Awkward Silence
by UchiHime
Summary: From the time he is six years old Harry lives with the Malfoy's as Draco's playmate. Complete summary inside. Eventually slash and mpreg. DMHP. Cover art courtesy of freedigitalphotos dot net
1. Fairy Tale

Title: Awkward Silence  
Rated: M  
Warnings: Eventually Slash, (maybe) non-con, and mpreg  
Summary One: The Dursleys abandoned five year old Harry Potter at an orphanage. A year later he is taken by Lucius Malfoy to be the playmate of the pure-blood's son.  
Summary Two: Harry loves words more than anything in the world they hold a special power to him, he rarely speaks because he feels his precious word will be wasted, only one other undersyands his passion for words and that is Draco.  
Summary Three: Harry Potter belongs to Draco Malfoy he has every since they were six years old. Harry knows his place, but when he gets to Hogwarts he begins yearning for freedom from the Malfoy's possession.  
Note: Poems within this story are copyright of their original owner.

* * *

**0. Fairy Tale**

_Once upon a time doesn't promise  
Happily ever after—and the princess  
May not be saved by her prince  
(Handsome and valiant that he is)_

The boy sat soundlessly huddled in the cupboard under the stairs, trying to make himself as small as possible, wishing he could just disappear. Outside his small sanctuary the big people spoke. He knew they were speaking of him, though they never said his name, the only times the big people spoke so loudly was when it was about him. He hadn't done anything wrong, of that he was sure. He was just a small person compared to them, they barely noticed him around and he went out of his way to stay out of their way. He stayed as much as possible in his small cupboard under the stairs.

_Once upon a time doesn't promise  
Evil villains and dragons to be slain  
The great quest may only be a simple  
(Yet needed) trip to the market_

The big people were talking louder, their voices raised to fearful heights; they yelled words that he could barely understand. The sound of creaking floorboards and loud thumping steps above him told the boy the littlest big person had come. He could say that the littlest big person was actually a small person like himself, but the difference in their size was to the point that he could only call him as a big person, though not as big as the others. The big people stopped their yelling when the littlest one came in; he'd expected that, for they never argued in front of their precious little one. The boy huddled smaller within himself and clutched to his chest his most prized possession. The biggest one would come for him soon, of that he was sure. The arguing was over, but the problem had yet to be solved because it was hiding in the cupboard under the stairs.

_Once upon a time doesn't promise  
Magic and mischief—a land far faraway  
May only be as far as the next town  
Or as close as the next room_

He had known they wouldn't let him stay there forever. They had never wanted him in the first place; they only put up with him due to some promise the big people had made a long time ago. He wasn't scared that they were taking him away and he wasn't curious as to where he would end up. Anywhere would have been better than where he was at, of that he was sure. He was the child that nobody wanted. They'd made sure he knew that, but it really didn't matter at all to him. The boy stared down at his hands in his lap- there was dirt under his fingernails, the big people wouldn't like that but he didn't much care. Once there was a time he would spend rides such as this staring out the window in awe of the changing surroundings, but he had outgrown that long ago. Now he just sat staring at his hands in his lap and the dirt under his nails. He wouldn't be with the big people much longer so he didn't have to please them. He left the dirt under his nails.

_Once upon a time…_

The new place was large and full of people, some big, most small like himself, but none as small as him. Laughter and cries and stern voices filled the halls, he wondered what this place was. The big people were going to leave him here, of that he was sure. He would no longer stay with them and the littlest big person, he would no longer huddle in the cupboard under the stairs and wish he could disappear, he would no longer hear their raised voices or the creak and thumps of heavy footsteps descending the stairs, but he didn't care. He ran his fingers across the surface of his most prized possession and didn't even look when the biggest one departed. They could leave him here, he didn't much care. They could leave him here. He would survive.

_Once upon a time promises  
Joy and laughter with a spoonful  
Of tears and pain—it promises  
The tale of a life well lived_

~R.R. Cannon


	2. Nobody

**1. Nobody**

_I'm Nobody. Who are you?  
Are you Nobody, too?_

The children all stood up proper, backs straight, shirts tucked, shoes clean, hands clasped behind their backs. They'd spent the morning cleaning themselves and their areas making sure not a speck of dust was to be seen. Now they stood, all smiling faces and shiny teeth wearing their "Sunday's Best". Ten girls all dressed in skirts and sweaters seven boys all in slacks and collared shirts, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the adults who came every two weeks to see them and hopefully take them away.

The usual low buzz of conversation thrummed through the room carrying the expected notes of anticipation. They were all so excited, they'd waited two weeks for this; this day that they might get lucky and be taken away never to returned, this day that if they were lucky they would finally gain a place to call home and someone to call mom and dad. They spent nights dreaming of the outcome of this day and mornings fantasizing the same thing. One girl wanted a beautiful mother who would buy her dolls, cook for her, and take her to the park. Another girl wanted a mother and father who would read her a bedtime story and tuck her in every night. One boy wanted a dad that would play football with him and take him fishing. Another boy just wanted to go find a quiet place to read.

A hush fell over the gathered children as the large oak doors opened and in walked Ms. Tanner, the woman in charge of the orphanage, followed by a group of adults looking to be parents. This group of parents was large compared to other weeks with five happy couples and the occasional single person or two. Ms. Tanner smiled when she saw how neatly her wards had gathered. "Children, what do you say?"

"Good afternoon and thank you for coming." The children chorused with face-splitting smiles in place, the girls all curtsied and the boys bowed, one boy stood off to the side trying to go unnoticed. Some of the adults returned the greetings, others smiled and waved. Ms. Tanner smiled her approval at the children, she had taught them well. Soon she released the want-to-be parents onto the children and the kids stood their ground inwardly praying that one of the adults would come and ask to spend the day with them. The moment the adults moved towards the children, one little boy slipped away to find a quiet place to read.

He hated these days that the other children all loved so much. Mostly because he knew that none of the adults would want him, partly because he didn't care. Silently he slipped out of the room and padded down the hall towards what would most likely be the only quiet place he'd find this day, none of the children ever brought the adults to the library and if they did they would never find the isolated corner in which he was heading. None of the other kids were small enough, or lacked the agility, to reach his little hideout, a raised shelf like place that had once been a display area about five and a half feet off the floor that required careful maneuvering both the reach and to stay poised on. The spot could only be seen if looked at from a certain angle and it allowed him the privacy to read all he liked.

He only ever read one book. Well not exactly true, he read tons of books he loved to read: fantasies, mysteries, sci-fi, romance; you name it he had probably read it. But there was only one book he would read repeatedly over and over again, cover to cover; he practically had it memorized, and yet he continued to read it. It was a small book with a red cover made of cloth and a broken spine, the pages were yellowed from age and crumpled and worn from constant turning; some of the pages weren't even connected to the book anymore, but stuffed inside for safe keeping. The words on the page were hand written in black ink and an elegant script, they were beginning to fade a bit but he could still make out most of them.

The boy sat on his narrow perch gently turning the pages of his most prized possession, his lips moving in silent words that none could hear. He immediately lost himself in words on the pages to the point that the outside world ceased to exist. He didn't hear the rhythmic steps of hard soled shoes against hard wood flooring or the clack of the cane that thumped against the floor with them. He didn't see the tall man with the platinum blond hair who stood on under the shelf in just the right place to watch him there. And if he did sense the hard grey eyes watching him, he paid it no mind for he didn't care about anything but the words on the page before him.

_Then there's a pair of us—don't tell  
They'll banish us you know_

"Harry you had better not be up there!" a shrill voice called, causing the boy to jump in surprise and lose both hold of his book and his balance on the shelf. The red cloth covered book slipped from his fingers and fell the five and a half feet to the floor, and Harry could feel his body following it. His eyes squeezed shut as he wanted to avoid seeing his inevitable union with the floor. "Harry!" Ms. Tanner yelled rushing across the floor as she witnessed the boy falling, oblivious to the man who was standing beneath the shelf who'd at the moment reached into his pocket. To her shock just before Harry was about to slam into the hard wood floor he seemed almost to float for a moment before falling the last few inches and landed curled almost into a little ball.

"Interesting."

"Harry, how many times have I told you not to climb up there?" Ms. Tanner demanded covering the last of the distance between her and the small boy. "Are you ok? You could have seriously hurt yourself!"

Green eyes that seemed as if they shouldn't exist outside of a story book blinked open and Harry hesitantly pushed himself up, surprised to find that he was relatively unharmed, just a bit spooked and on an adrenaline high. He smiled sheepishly as Ms. Tanner kneeled and began fussing over him. "Harry I swear I don't know how you do it," the woman said upon seeing Harry without injury. "Any other kid would be badly hurt and bawling their eyes out, yet you sit here without a scratch on you and not making a sound." A light blush coated Harry's cheeks as Ms. Tanner petted his wild ebony colored hair. "I guess I should be used to it by now, you and your miracles." She smiled at her young ward.

"Excuse me, madam," a cool voice drawled; Harry looked up and found a man he hadn't noticed was there at first staring down at him. "Does the boy pull off… miracles like this often."

Ms. Tanner looked over the man that must have been part of the group here to see the children, he emitted and an air of poise that said he most likely come from money, any of the children in her care would be honored to be adopted by a man of such prestige, any child but Harry that is. She smiled at him. "Unfortunately yes," she said, before turning to her ward. "Harry run off and play with the other children while I talk to Mister- um."

"Malfoy," the man offered.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Malfoy; Harry run along," Ms. Tanner repeated.

The black haired boy got to his feet, gathered his fallen book and the pages scattered across the floor, before strolling towards the door of the library, only to duck behind the shelves when he knew Ms. Tanner wasn't looking. They were about to talk about him, of that he was sure, and he was going to stick around to see what they had to say.

"What's the boy's story?" The man, Malfoy, wanted to know.

"Oh surely you're not interested in adopting him," Ms. Tanner said. "There's plenty of other children here, why Bobby-"

"I didn't ask about Bobby," Mr. Malfoy cut her off. "I was inquiring into the story of the boy Harry."

_How dreary to be somebody  
How public like a frog_

Ms. Tanner sighed. "You really don't want to adopt Harry; he's such a strange child. His uncle brought him here about a year ago when he was only five and since that time he's only proven to be even stranger. Don't get me wrong, he's a good child, sweet, and smart for his age, reading books well beyond his level. But he's practically a mute; I've barely heard him speak two sentences since he got here and as I said that was a year ago. He's a bit of an introvert, always isolating himself. At first he tried to play nice with the other kids but they all pushed him away because, well because the strangest things happen around him. Like just now, he should have been gravely injured falling from the shelf like that, but he's perfectly fine. He's weird.

"He used to fight with the other boys, well actually they used to bully him a bit- harmless fun I assure you-, but then something must have happened that the kids won't tell me about because the main boy that used to tease him acts as if he's scared for his life. And then there's that book. You saw the little red one he just had, he brought it with him when he uncle dropped him off, he doesn't let anyone touch it; freaks out if it's out of his sight for more than five minutes. I worry for him sometimes; he keeps so much bottled up inside. Once he completely trashed the boy's dorm room when he lost his temper. Swears it wasn't him, but who else could have? I moved him to his own room after that. He's really a lot of trouble, you should really look at some of the other boys if you're looking to adopt, or maybe one of the girls. Cindy is-"

"I would like to speak with Harry for a moment, alone if you please."

"Uh, well… he's probably in his room. I could show you where-"

"No need, young Potter never left the library; isn't that right Harry?"

_To tell your name the live long day_

Harry stepped out from his hiding place, wondering how the man had known he was there or, more importantly, how he'd known his surname since Ms. Tanner had only ever referred to him as Harry the entire conversation.

"No need to worry, Potter," Mr. Malfoy assured, "I mean you no harm. A moment alone please Ms. Tanner."

"Right," Ms. Tanner said. "I had better go check on the other kids and parents."

Ms. Tanner left the library and the moment the door closed behind her, Mr. Malfoy reached into his pocket and pulled out a long slender piece of wood, waved it around and mumbled some words Harry couldn't understand. A burst of light escaped the tip of the wood- that Harry realized must have been a wand like in his storybooks- and hit the door. "Now no one can interrupt us," the older gentleman said.

Harry's impossible green eyes widened in shock wondering what he had just witnessed.

A grin-like smirk spread across the blond's lips. "You've never met another wizard have you, Harry?" He asked, though his voice said he already knew the answer. "I'm sure you didn't even know of your own wizarding heritage, did you? You're scared of the strange things you can do. You don't understand why you're so different. Other people fear you. None of them will ever accept you. You don't belong here, Harry."

"I suppose you think I belong with you." Harry's voice was low and a bit scratchy from his seldom use of it.

"I think you belong among your own kind, not here with these Muggles. I have a son," Mr. Malfoy said changing the subject. "He's about your age and is in need of a playmate. Your raw magic will only be a hindrance to you here, and you will only be unhappy. Come with me and keep my Draco company. That's all I ask of you. It will benefit you more than me, and I do say you and Draco both are in dire need of a friend."

_To an admiring bog._

_~Emily Dickenson_


	3. The Lamb

**2. The Lamb**

_Little Lamb, who made thee?  
Dost thou know who made thee?  
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed  
By the stream and o'er the mead; _

Harry stood at the foot of the stairs with his one bag sitting at his feet and his little red book held protectively in his hands. Mr. Malfoy was in Ms. Tanner's office at the moment, taking care of some last minute business; when he came out he would take Harry and they would leave never to return, of that he was sure. But for now he had to wait. Taking a seat on the stairs, Harry opened the cover of his little book; he'd already read the entire thing at least a million times, but he was sure he'd read it a million more. Words went through his head and pulled him deep inside. Words held power, he knew that for certain.

"So it's true is it?" A boy's voice drew Harry's attention away from the words on the worn yellow pages. Filthy brown hair, a milk chocolate gaze, and a scar across the cheek alerted Harry as to who the person intruding on his reading time was. Harry sighed and closed his book; he really didn't want to deal with Bobby at the moment, nor his goons Peter and Laurent for that matter, but the three of them along with another boy named Eric and four girls Carrie, Julie, Cindy, and Leah stood before Harry trying to put on a menacing front. "Someone really is going to adopt a freak like you?" Bobby asked.

Harry ignored him, opting instead to open his bag and store his most prized possession safely inside. "Hey, Freak, we're talking to you!" Peter growled; Harry shot him a look before going back to zipping his bag. He wouldn't speak to them, these children who found entertainment in prodding at his differences.

"Who would want a freak like you for their child?" Cindy wanted to know. "They'd do better with one of us." The other seven children nodded in agreement.

_Gave thee clothing of delight,  
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;  
Gave thee such a tender voice,  
Making all the vales rejoice? _

Harry wouldn't speak to them, he never did. Words were wasted on the likes of them. Words were too important for them. There were better uses for words like poetry and stories. Words held power they did not deserve to be gifted with. Words flowed threw his head in an unending stream. He wouldn't waste words on the likes of them.

"Who ever's adopting you is an idiot," Laurent declared.

"Not that it matters anyway," Julie said, "he won't be there long."

"Once they get to know you and learn that you're such a freak they'll send you right back." Carrie agreed.

Harry wished they would stop speaking. They were wasting words. There were better uses for words, like music and speeches.

"I bet they don't even want you for a son!" Eric had to add his two cents. "You're probably just going to be their slave or something."

Or something, Harry thought. He knew Mr. Malfoy was only taking him to be a playmate for his son. He wasn't being adopted into the Malfoy family; he was just a house guest, a live in friend to keep the Malfoy heir entertained, but Harry didn't much care. He only cared about going away from this place where people rejected him and wasted words. Marvelous words that had better uses, like fairy tales and magic spells.

The Malfoys didn't waste words. Mr. Malfoy had spoken words- magic words- that assured their privacy and then used words to entice him away. Mr. Malfoy knew the power within the words, so the son Harry was being taken to must know that power as well.

"Aren't you going to speak, Freak?" Bobby demanded. "It's rude to ignore people." He knew Harry wouldn't speak to him, he never did.

"It is also rude for eight people to gang up on a single child like a group of ruffians." The cool detached voice could only belong to one person. Harry looked up into the smoldering grey eyes of Mr. Malfoy who was glaring down at the gathered youths with a distinct look of distaste. "I hold no qualms with society for incarcerating a gaggle of heathens such as yourselves within this facility. You lack the proper breeding to live among the civilized."

_Little Lamb, who made thee?  
Dost thou know who made thee? _

Bobby and his group looked utterly lost at what had just been said; Harry couldn't help but grin. The man had just insulted the children and they were none the wiser because they didn't know the words. If Ms. Tanner (who was lingering within the Malfoy's shadow) understood what the man had said she held her tongue. Words buzzed around Harry's head.

"Harry, are you ready to go?"

A smile spread across Harry's cherub like face. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

The crowd of gathered children didn't know what was more surprising; the fact that Harry had spoken, or the fact that he'd smiled while doing so. Harry ignored them as he grabbed his one bag. He pushed his was through the crowd, and stood at the Malfoy's side. Mr. Malfoy didn't waste words; he turned on his heel and set a brisk pace to the exit with Harry following behind. Just as the six year old reached the door a voice called out to him, "Harry," Leah yelled, "Goodbye."

The door swung closed behind them and Mr. Malfoy led the way down the stone step of the orphanage and made a right on the pavement. To Harry's immense surprise he didn't lead them to a car or to public transportation, but instead made a quick right in an alley way that would have been bypassed by any other pedestrian on the street. He led the way to the very back of the dark crevice before turning to the six year old.

"Harry come and hold my arm." The man ordered, knowing Mr. Malfoy wouldn't waste words on an unimportant request, Harry quickly complied. "We will be traveling my means called apparition, you're to young to apparate on your on so I will be taking you side-along. Whatever you do, do not release hold of my arm until we are back on solid ground." That said the Malfoy did a sort of half spin and they were gone.

Harry let out a surprised gasp as he suddenly felt as if he was being squeezed through a straw. The feeling ended just as quickly as it began and the moment Harry's feet connected with something solid his grip slipped from the Malfoy's arm and he tumbled to the ground; it went without saying that Apparating wasn't the most comfortable means of transportation, but Harry gave it its props for speed (despite the fact that his stomach felt as if it was about to become very well acquainted with the ground) seeing as how there was no possible way they could be anywhere near the Surrey Orphanage. In fact Harry wasn't sure where they were anymore.

Before him was two large wroth iron gates with a large 'M' design on both wrapped with metal snakes and steel roses. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor." Lucius said as he took a step forwards and the gates swung open revealing what had to be the largest house Harry had privilege to lay eyes upon.

There was an extensive amount of land from the gates to the immaculate white house that had to have been at least four stories high. Mr. Malfoy began the trek across the pristine green lawn with Harry trailing obediently behind, his luminescent eyes taking in the manor grounds with nothing less than awe on his cherub like face. In all his six years of life he had never seen such a gorgeous place.

But then if Harry had thought the outside of the place was gorgeous, then none of the words the boy so much loved could describe the interior. Harry nearly went slack jaw in awe of the faultless greeting hall the man led him to. Pristine white walls, portraits that Harry swears he saw moving, imported furnishings; it all emitted and air of pomp and decorum that reeked of old money.

_Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,  
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:  
He is called by thy name,  
For he calls himself a Lamb. _

"The Malfoys are one of the oldest wizarding bloodlines and this manor has been in the family for decades if not centuries. Even the lands tied to your name are not as old, though that is most likely because the Potter family is not an ancient line like the Malfoys. I'm sure you are not aware of your status as heir to the pureblood Potter family, half blood that you are and muggle raised as well, but you need not worry about it for the time being. If you get curious feel free to look up the bloodline in the Malfoy library. But do not forget your role within this house.

"At the moment my wife and son are away on a trip to Paris; they shall return tomorrow morning at around breakfast time. I have pressing matters that I must attend to this evening, so for now I will have our house elf show you to your rooms. You will be sharing the east wing with Draco. You are to take your meal there this evening and I will see you in the morn."

Harry nodded silently.

"Dobby," Mr. Malfoy called, a loud 'pop' sound reverberated through the hall and the most peculiar creature Harry had ever seen appeared before them. The wrinkly brown humanoid shaped being with pointy ears, tennis ball sized eyes, and a dirty pillowcase for clothes could only be the house elf Mr. Malfoy had spoken of.

"Does Master Malfoy call Dobby, sir?"

"Yes Dobby, show Mr. Potter here to his rooms. Harry will be living with us from now on and thus is to be treated with the same care given to the family."

"Yes, Master Malfoy, sir." The creature, Dobby, bowed. "Harry Potter, sir, follows Dobby. Dobby show him to his rooms."

Harry looked at Mr. Malfoy questioningly, Lucius gave him a stiff nod and Harry followed the house elf out of the greeting hall. The rest of the house was even more immaculate than the grounds and greeting hall, it took all of Harry's self control to not to stare in wonder at all the splendor and decoration, but it was _his_ rooms that took Harry's breath away.

The rooms given over for Harry's used were nothing short of extravagant. First there was the sitting room with its imported white furniture, marble fire place, large bay windows that overlooked the back gardens, and floor to ceiling bookshelves stuffed with numerous titles that Harry (being the well read and overly educated child for his age that he was) didn't even recognized. One door led from the sitting room into a study area with a simple desk but even more bookshelves stuffed with even more unknown titles. Another door led from the sitting room to the largest bedroom Harry had even seen.

There was a king size four poster canopy bed, so high that a foot stool had been set beside it so he could reach it. It was adorned with sheer curtains and a white satin down comforter threaded through with golden string. The carpet was plush and white; one wall was completely taken up by large French windows that opened out to a balcony area which over looked the same gardens at the windows in the sitting room. There was a walk in closet big enough to serve as another bedroom that Harry was only slightly surprised to find filled with clothes in just his size. The final room was an en suite bathroom with a marble tub like a pool that set into the floor large enough to hold six full grown men. Harry was speechless.

"Dobby will bring Harry Potter, sir, his meal at dinnertime. Dobby hopes Harry Potter, sir, enjoys his stay at Malfoy Manor." With a pop the house elf was gone leaving Harry alone to take in the sheer extravagance of his rooms.

Walking over to the canopy bed in his bedroom area, Harry collapsed into the mounds of down feathers, sinking deep into to warm soft surface. He sighed in contentment before sitting up and pulling the one bag he'd brought with him from the orphanage to him and digging his most prized possession out. Falling back into the sea of down feathers, Harry held the little red book over his head and opened to the front cover. Smiling he ran his small fingers over the hand written words, 'Lily Evans'.

"Welcome to our new home, mom," The six year old whispered. "I hope we like it here."

_He is meek, and he is mild;  
He became a little child.  
I a child, and thou a lamb.  
We are called by his name.  
Little Lamb, God bless thee!  
Little Lamb, God bless thee!_

_~William Blake_


	4. The Tyger

**3. The Tyger**

_Tyger, Tyger burning bright  
In the forest of the night  
What immortal hand or eye  
Could carve thy perfect symmetry?_

There were two dining halls in Malfoy Manor: one for formal occasions and one for everyday use. Harry sat in the one for everyday use early the next morning after Dobby had fetched him saying that Lord Malfoy desired his presence in thirty minutes giving the boy time to bathe and dress in one of the outfits he found in his closet, a simple pair of shorts and a collared shirt. Harry sat up straight with his hands clasped in his lap at the table, while Mr. Malfoy sat at one end of the table reading a newspaper called the Daily Prophet. No meal had been served yet and Harry wondered if they were waiting for the arrival of the Lady Malfoy and their son, but he wouldn't waste words on asking something he would soon know the answer to, so for not he bided his time waiting in silence.

As if summoned by Harry's patient thoughts, at that very moment the fireplace at the end of long table burned a bright green color grabbing Harry's inquiring attention. The green flames subsided and in their wake a tall woman with platinum blonde hair stepped out accompanied by a boy that looked like a younger version of the Lord Malfoy with hair spun from the purest silver and eyes like storm clouds. The boy could only be young Draco Malfoy, which meant the woman must have been the Lady of the house.

"Lucius darling we're home," the Lady chimed in an annoyingly high pitched voice, rushing over to her husband and greeting him with a kiss. "Oh Darling, you really should have came with us. Paris is beautiful this time of year and the shopping was tres bonne."

"My regrets then my dear Narcissa, but I had certain matters to attend to here. I trust that you and Draco enjoyed yourselves."

"Well of course we did, Darling, don't we always. But you'll never believe who we bumped into. There we were walking along Le Rue de Saint Martine when who would pop up but Pat Parkinson and her little daughter Pansy. It was quite the chance encounter really Pat and I got a chance to catch up with each other while Draco and little Pansy became acquainted; lovely girl that Pansy is growing into. But enough about our trip, did you get what you needed done accomplished?"

"Yes Dear, I did."

"Father, who is this?" The young Malfoy spoke for the first time, drawing attention to Harry, who he'd been staring at the whole time the adults was speaking and Harry had been staring right back at him.

"This is Harry," Lucius said simply. "He will be staying with us for now own."

"What?" Draco asked. "Why?"

"Because I deemed it fitting for you to have a playmate at this age," Lucius replied. "And Harry here wasn't exactly in the best living environment for a young wizard."

Narcissa looked the small boy over curiously. "Is he a mudblood?"

"Half-blood, his surname is Potter."

"Potter?" The Lady Malfoy repeated in awe. "As in _the _Harry Potter."

"The very same; he was being brought up in a Muggle orphanage."

"An orphanage, surely Dumbledore didn't leave him there?"

"From what I gathered he was left there by his Muggle uncle, but you will have to ask Harry to be certain."

The Lady Malfoy looked at Harry as if waiting for something, eventually she turned back to her husband. "Why isn't he speaking? Is he daft or something?"

Lucius turned to the boy and raised one eyebrow. "Harry?" His tone was level but demanding.

"No ma'am I am not daft," Harry said in a pleasant tone. "It's just I find myself completely enamored with words and prefer not to waste them in idle chatter."

"Enamored, idle; big words for such a small boy, how old did you say you were again?"

"I didn't say, ma'am, but I am six years old. I taught myself to read at a young age and have only furthered my vocabulary since."

"Really?" Mrs. Malfoy sounded a bit impressed.

"Boring," Draco declared cutting his mother off and forcing a yawn. "What do you do for fun."

Harry didn't say anything.

"If you're going to be my playmate, then I need to know what you do for fun." Draco sounded every bit the spoiled brat and Harry couldn't help but frown slightly inwardly hoping the boy wasn't like this all the time.

A look at Mr. Malfoy resigned Harry to his fate. "I read," he said in low tone. "I love reading."

"Boring, reading isn't fun, it's lessons." Like a petulant child the Malfoy heir turned to his father and declared, "I don't like him. Take him back."

"Unfortunately Draco, Harry isn't like any of the other toys I bought you before. You can't just send him back.

"Well you play with him; I don't want him." That said the six year old Malfoy stormed out of the room.

"Oh dear," Narcissa sighed, "Draconis." She rushed after her son leaving Harry alone with Lucius in the dining hall.

_On what distant deeps or skies  
Burned the fire in thine eyes?  
On what wings dare he aspire,  
Does the hand dare cease the fire?_

Mr. Malfoy sighed and folded his newspaper. "I must apologize for my son's behavior," he said sitting up straight and clasping his hands in front of him. "I must admit that his mother and I have spoiled him more than just a little bit."

Harry nodded silently, biting his lip and debating on asking the question buzzing through his mind. "You're not going to send me back are you?" He finally asked but kept himself from rambling on.

"Of course not," Lucius said in a nonchalant tone. "Draco just needs time to grow on you. He's always dissatisfied with his playthings before he breaks them in."

Harry tried not to wince at the Malfoy's choice of words; he nodded his head solemnly.

"Well it seems that the family breakfast will be canceled for today, return to your room and I'll have Dobby bring your meal there." Harry nodded again and pushed himself out of his seat and made for the stairs.

"Oh Draco, you know your father would never." Narcissa's voice drifted to him from behind the door across the hall from Harry's room, it was slightly ajar and Harry could just barely make out a sitting room very much like the one in his own rooms inside. These must be Draco's rooms.

"But it's _the _Harry Potter. I bet father would much rather have him for a son. He's going to replace me, I know it."

"You're speaking nonsense Draconis, your father loves you; you're irreplaceable to him."

"I thought that at one point, but did you see him? Did you hear him speak? I don't even know those words he used and I've been seeing a tutor for years. I don't like him."

"Draconis Abraxes Malfoy, petty jealousy is unbecoming of someone of the Malfoy heritage. Your father loves you and will not replace you with the Potter boy, and that's the end of it. Now give Harry a chance will you, I'm sure you two have a lot in common."

"I'm not jealous," Draco huffed. "Why would I be jealous of that boy? I will not give him a chance. I hate him!"

Harry didn't want to hear anymore, he opened the door to his room and slipped inside. The door closed with a click behind him and he padded over to his bedroom and retrieved his little red book from where he had hidden it under the pillow. Pushing open the large French doors, Harry stepped out onto the balcony and leaned against the rail to look up at the house. Thankfully his rooms were on the top floor with nothing but the roof above him. There were a few decorative protrusions from the side of the house.

Harry smiled and rushed back into his rooms, running through the bedroom he barge into the sitting room and grabbed the first book he could reach off the shelf, which happened to be _The Complete Tales of Beedle the Bard_. Back on the balcony he stuffed that book along with his mother's red book into the waistband on his pants and climbed onto the railing of the balcony. Carefully so as not to lose his balance, he leaned against he wall and reached up for the first protrusion. Probably if not for what Mr. Malfoy called his raw magic he wouldn't have been able to accomplish the task but after some careful maneuverings Harry sat down on the roof of the Malfoy Manor with a sense of accomplishment. With a smile on his face, Harry pulled the two books from his waist band and cracked one open. He loved being outside up high where the sun could warm his skin while he read. It was one of the simply pleasures in life that allowed him to forget everything.

_On what shoulder, on what art  
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?  
And when thy heart begins to beat  
What dread hand and what dread feet?_

The sun was reaching its midday high when Harry finally (rather reluctantly) closed his book when he realized that his stomach was protesting his skipping breakfast. Sighing, Harry inched his way towards the edge of the roof and hung his legs over his balcony. Dropping the books down so that he wouldn't have to worry about them, Harry rolled over onto his stomach and began the tedious task of returning himself to solid ground.

Harry squeezed his eyes closed as his legs kicked around in open air trying to find a foothold to ease himself down with; Harry had no problem with climbing to high places but he always felt more than a little nervous when he had to get himself down; there was just something about having his legs flailing in thin air that unnerved him. It was relief when his feet were planted firmly back on the balcony floor. Gathering his books, he entered his bedroom, took the time to put his mother's red book back under the pillow, and threw the other book into the middle of his bed. He hadn't returned a moment too soon because at that instant Dobby appeared telling him he was to head to the dining hall for lunch.

Only Lady Malfoy was in the dining hall when he arrived. Harry nodded and mumbled a greeting to her before taking the seat he'd been in earlier. Neither of them spoke, but Harry could feel the Lady's eyes on him as he nervously tugged at the hem of his shirt. Not long after Harry's arrival Draco padded into the room and took his seat, he mumbled a hello to his mother; shot Harry a sideways look, before tugging at the hem of his own shirt and sat upright in his seat. The group remained silent until the Lord of the house made his arrival. He greeted everyone and took his seat, lunch was served soon after.

"Harry I never got the chance to properly introduce you to my lovely wife Narcissa and my son Draco."

Harry smiled shyly. "Pleased to meet you both."

Narcissa nodded her greeting and Draco let out a huff keeping his attention on his meal. Eventually Narcissa couldn't stand the silence any longer and struck up idle conversation with her husband and son, disregarding Harry's presence all together, not that Harry much minded he wouldn't have said much anyway, of that he was sure. Instead he just listened.

"I don't much like that Pansy girl," Draco was saying. "She was too giggly and annoying."

"Oh, dear, you're just not old enough to understand a woman's charm yet." Narcissa told him.

"I still don't like her. She got mad when I hit her when I was only playing. Blaise hits back when I hit him, she was no fun. But I suppose she could be worst. She could spend her whole day reading books, that's just boring."

Narcissa winced and tried to change the subject. "When was the last time you talked to Blaise? He hasn't been over in a while."

"His family is spending the summer in Italy; he said he'll be back on my birthday but only for a little while."

"Oh, that's right, have you decided who all you want to invite for your birthday party?"

"No girls," Draco declared. "If they're all like Pansy, then they'll spoil all the fun."

Lucius chuckled at his son's childishness.

"Right dear, I'll keep that in mind." Narcissa giggled.

"And I don't want Harry there either." Draco added.

_What the hammer, what the chain?  
In what furnace was thy brain?  
What the anvil, what dread clasp  
In what deadly terrors grasp?_

Harry wasn't particularly upset about being singled out to not attend Draco's party, though he did wish that the blond would just take the chance to get to know him before letting his preconceptions guide his decisions. The truth of the matter was, Harry had a completely rational fear that Mr. Malfoy would send him back to the orphanage if Draco didn't like him, despite the man's assurances that he wouldn't. Fact of the matter was the only reason Harry had been taken into the Malfoy home was to be Draco's playmate and if Draco didn't want him then there was no reason for him to remain present.

"Draco, dear, surely you don't mean that," Narcissa said.

"Yes I do, he's boring; why would I want him at my party?"

Narcissa opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment Harry decided he couldn't listen anymore. Setting his fork down louder than exactly necessary Harry looked towards Lucius at the head of the table. "I'm not hungry anymore; may I be excused?" Lucius gave a nod and Harry pushed himself away from the table. Giving not so much as a passing glance at the rest of the Malfoy's Harry rushed out the hall and up the stairs to his room.

_Once the stars threw down their spears  
And water heave with their tears  
Did he smile his work to see?  
Did he who made the lamb make thee?_

Once concealed in his sanctuary of a room, Harry collapsed onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He wouldn't let Draco's words get to him. He was used to being picked on and called names, the lease of which was as kind as 'boring'. The way he saw it, Draco Malfoy was just another person who was wasting words that could have been put to better use.

But Harry couldn't bring himself to dislike the boy. Sure Draco was spoiled brat, but that wasn't his fault. It had been his parents to sully him in such a way. His parents had been the ones to dote so much love and affection onto him that he became used to having things his way. Harry couldn't dislike him for his behavior; in fact Harry was finding himself a bit envious of the Malfoy heir. An orphan for as long as he could remember; Harry didn't know the love of a parent that would spoil him in such away. He had never had that love and affection. All he had of his parents were the words his aunt and uncle said about them, bad words that Harry had a hard time believing were true, and the words in the book his mother had left behind. All Harry had was words.

These words that he cherished, that he built his life on; he used the words to create parents like the Malfoys that would dote on him. He used these words to soothe his loneliness. He used these words to make him feel better when the rest of the world worked only to make him feel like scum. Draco thought he was boring because all the cared about was words, but Draco didn't understand that words were all he had.

Harry sighed; maybe he could make an effort to befriend the blond boy. Maybe he could put aside his books and the endless stream of words that constantly occupied his mind and make and effort to be a more fun person that Draco would like. He needed Draco to like him so that Lord Malfoy wouldn't send him back to that place where people wasted words. He needed Draco to like him so that he could remain here and learn the magic words that he'd seen Lucius use. He needed Draco to like him so that he wouldn't be so lonely anymore and he wouldn't need his words to make him happy. He just needed Draco to like him.

_Tyger, Tyger, burning bright  
In the forest of the night  
What immortal hand or eye  
Dare carve thy perfect symmetry?_

_~William Blake_


	5. Pretty Little Song

Pretty Little Song Property of RR Cannon

AN: I had a beta for this chapter, but I couldn't access the document that she edited for me, so there's only minor grammar/spelling corrections in this chapter. Sorry Yushi, I'll put your skills to use next chapter

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* * *

****4. Pretty Little Song**

_I hear a song_

_A pretty little song _

_A song I thought_

_I would never hear_

Thick grey clouds covered the horizon casting the area into heavy shadows. Harry stood on his balcony watching their approach; the storm they would bring was inevitable, of that he was sure. He was both anxious for its arrival and dreading the same thing. Harry loved the rain it was beautiful, calming, and purifying. The rain washed away everything and left room for new things to grow. But at the same time the rain was dark, sad, and depressing. It cast the world in shadow while the sky wept and confined everyone to the indoors. He loved the rain, but at he same time he loathe it. Harry had been in the Malfoy home for four days now and had yet make any considerable progress on earning Draco's friendship, but that was mostly because he hadn't made much of an effort. Despite his better wishes Harry was by habit a bit of a recluse and knew not how to associate with others he age. He'd never had a real friend in his life and didn't know how to go about making one. No book he had ever read told him how to make friends and thus he was on his own with this particular struggle. Honestly Harry had spent most of his time at the Manor either in his room or on the roof reading one of the many books on the shelves in his rooms. He'd discovered that all the books in the sitting room were for entertainment purposes while the ones in the study were more educational and he's made an effort to read a selection from both. He planned on taking a trip to the Malfoy library, but decided that would have to wait until he ran out of reading materials in his rooms. Pretty much the only time he wasn't reading was when he was having meals with the Malfoys. Harry tried to make an effort to be friendly with Draco on those occasions, but it was in his nature to be a silent watcher and thus he failed at speaking up and getting noticed. Harry was more than a little downtrodden by his repeated failures at gaining the Malfoy heir's approval, but he was a creature of habit and was having the hardest time breaking the habits that had kept him safe and sane all his life.

Harry sighed and returned to his room, there was no going up to the roof with a storm on the way. Leaving the French doors open so he could watch the rain when it arrived; Harry climbed the steps of the footstool to his bed and fell into the sea of down feathers. After sliding his mother's book to its usual place under his pillow Harry grabbed the book he was planning to read that day; it was research text on the experimental treatments of certain magical maladies, the experiments had apparently been outlawed some years ago but the research text were still in circulation. He also grabbed the dictionary of magical terms he had found in the study for he knew he wound need it. Soon he was lying on his stomach in the center of the large bed completely entranced by the text he was reading. The words of the book were so new to him; he loved them as much as he loved his other words. Somewhere along the line the words got to be a bit much for him to take in all at once and his brain demanded rest. Harry was barely aware of when he fell asleep, diving head first into the river of words constantly flowing through his mind.

Harry was dreaming. He dreamt he was standing in a large library surrounded by shelves upon shelves of books, more books than a person could read in an entire life time. But Harry wasn't there to read books, not yet at least. First he needed to find someone, someone he knew was waiting for him somewhere among the shelves. He heard his named being called and knew they were waiting for him. He took off running though the shelves taking quick turns his bright green eyes searching. Finally he came to a halt a large smile spreading across his cherub like face. "There you are Harry." The girl was in her teens with bright red hair that fell in waves to her waist and green eyes much like his own shone like emeralds from her round face, "What are you waiting for, Harry, aren't we going to read?"

If possible Harry's large smile grew as he rushed towards the girl, "Mom!" He greeted her excitedly throwing himself into her arms, somewhere in the back of his mind he heard rain begin to fall, "It's so good to see you." Harry had found a picture of the fifteen year old Lily Evans around the same time he'd found her little red book, but his uncle had taken the picture from him and burned; the only reason his little red book was safe was because Harry had hidden it. From that time on he often dreamed of visiting this large library, his mother was always waiting for him somewhere among the shelves when he found her the two of them would curl up together and read a book. Harry's opinion of these dreams was very much the same as his opinion towards the rain; he both loved and loathed them. He loved being able to see his mother in a seemingly realistic setting, but he hated that none of it would ever be real. As Harry and Lily settled themselves on the floor of the library with Harry sitting snug between his mother's open legs Harry thought he heard the sound of light singing from somewhere. "Let's read this book mom." Harry said pulling a book from the shelf it was the same book he'd read on his first trip to the roof of the Malfoy house.

Lily smiled, "Ok, why don't you read it Harry."

Harry nodded and opened the cover of the book, just as he began to read the first words a loud sound like a crack of thunder sounded and forcefully removed him from his dreamscape.

It turned out to actually be thunder that woke Harry; the long awaited storming was pounding outside complete with both thunder and lighting to brighten up the dark as pitch skies. Harry set up and threw himself off the bed and approached his French windows to watch the large angry drops fall to the ground. Despite the fact that he'd left the doors open and the rain was falling in torrents outside, the plush carpet on his bedroom floor was surprisingly dry by the opening; Harry assumed that there must be some type of magic barrier in place to keep the elements from effecting the interior of the house, which he couldn't help but smile at because despite the fact that he's had it practically beat into him that magic didn't exist Harry was very fond of the supernatural abilities that he and the Malfoys all had. Leaving the windows open, Harry returned to his bed and gathered the books he's fallen asleep with; now was not the time for such heavy reading. This time called for something lighter and more emotional. He carried the research text and the dictionary back to his study and went to pick a book from the shelves in the sitting room. He was perusing the books on his shelves when he heard the sound of light singing pouring beneath the door of his rooms.

"_White coral bells upon a slender stalk,_" What Harry could only call the purest little boy's soprano he had ever heard sang filling his ears like an angel's song. Temporarily forgetting his quest for a book to read, Harry approached the door and pressed his ear against it, "_Lily of thy valley deck my garden walk._" Curious as to where the singing was coming from, Harry pulled open the door to his rooms and stepped into the dark hallway. He caught sight of a dim ethereal light coming from the slightly ajar door across from him; the singing was coming from Draco's room. "_Oh how I wish that you could hear them ring,_" always the curious one, Harry approached Draco's door and pushed it farther open, enough for him to quietly slip in. The only light in the sitting room came from the fireplace, which must have been the source of the ethereal glow Harry had seen. Harry took a few steps into the room and found a small figure sitting on the floor near the fire. Outside a loud crack of thundered rolled and the singing rose in volume, "_That will only happen when the fairies sing._" The last note rang through the air like the bells of the song, leaving a sad feeling in Harry's heart.

"Sing another," Harry requested without realizing it.

Draco jumped at the sound of Harry's voice, "Harry?" He asked, his own voice sounding much too vulnerable to be the same proud boy Harry had grown to know Draco to be, "What are you doing in my rooms?" The blond asked getting to his feet and facing the intruder, "Are you scared of the storm?"

Harry didn't answer and Draco didn't give him the chance to, "Well if you're scared you can't go and bother mother and father with it. You're a big boy a little storm like this shouldn't frighten you, you'd better be braver than that." Harry didn't point out that he wasn't afraid of the storm and had only come because he'd heard Draco's singing, because at that moment another roll of thunder shook the house. Draco jumped his eyes widening slightly and Harry realize that it was Draco himself that was scared of the storm, "Well if you're afraid you'd better come in," Draco returned to his seat on the floor near the fire and petted the floor next to him invitingly, "I'll sing you a song so you won't be afraid. It always helps to sing a song."

Harry said nothing as he pushed the door to Draco's rooms closed and silently treaded across the floor to the offered seat. Lighting briefly illuminated the sky outside the window and Draco began to sing just as the thundered rolled, "_Aw poor bird, take thy flight, far above the sorrows, of this sad night._" The song was short, but Draco's pure soprano wove it into one of the most heartfelt and saddening songs Harry had ever heard.

"You have a lovely voice." Harry said softly during the moment of silence that followed the song.

Draco smiled. "Mother loves my voice. She has me sing to her all the time. She says there's no purer soprano than that of a little boy's and that I should become a eunuch, but father always chastises her when she says that. He says as the only heir to the Malfoy family I will need those bits to make sure our bloodline doesn't dry out with my generation." Another flash of lighting preceded another roll of thunder causing Draco to once again jump, "Why don't you sing a song Harry; it'll make you not afraid anymore."

Harry hesitated a moment "I don't sing much," he admitted sheepishly, "but I can tell you some of my words."

Draco opened his mouth most likely to complain, but at that moment another flash of lighting illuminated the room and he nodded quickly before the thunder could come and frighten him again.

"I love to hear music play," Harry tried to make his voice resonate above the thunder as he recited his words much the same way as Draco's songs had, "I listen to it everyday, but even though I try and try, the sounds I make, makes people laugh and cry."

Draco nodded his approval once Harry finished, "I thought you were just going to say words, but that was a poem."

"Poems are words."

"Yes, but they are different. Words make up poems, but poems aren't just words. I mean, how do I say, you can say words without them being poems like just saying dog, sky, orange at random. That's what people will think you mean if you say you'll tell them some words."

"Oh," Harry said thoughtfully, he had known that his words were called poems, but he'd always just called them words because that's what his aunt Petunia had told him was in the little red book when he's first found it, just words. He's always called his poems words since that day.

"I'll sing you another song." Draco said as the room was once again lit by lighting, "And afterwards you can tell me another poem." Not waiting for Harry's answer Draco began to sing another song. The rest of the night went much the same, with the two of them alternating between singing songs and reciting words every time the thunder hit and them holding up idle conversation (mostly on Draco's part) in between. An immeasurable amount of time passed like this and Harry and Draco were beginning to warm up to each other, Harry would even dare to say they were becoming friends. "You know you belong to me right?" Draco said during one of the waits between thunderclaps, "Father bought you just for me, so that means you belong to me." Harry didn't say anything for he didn't really have much of a problem with that concept. "You're my boy." Draco said with a large smile. Harry nodded his head in agreement. Eventually a half hour time period had passed without anymore thundering and lighting and the sound of the rain began to dwindle outside, "I think the storm is over." Draco said getting to his feet and walking over to the window and yawning as he peered behind the curtain, "I guess its time we went to bed." Draco came back over and helped Harry to his feet. Draco smiled as they walked towards the door together, "You can always come back here if you're ever afraid of the storm again." The blond said as Harry stepped into the hallway, "I can sing you songs and you can tell me more of your words."

Harry smiled shyly. "I'd like that, thank you."

Draco's smile was so big it must have hurt, "Don't worry about it. You're my boy after all; I have to take care of you. Good night Harry."

"Good night Draco." Harry turned and crossed the hall to his own rooms.

"Sweet dreams," Draco called just as Harry's door swung closed.

Harry smiled and mumbled a 'sweet dreams' back to him, before heading to his bedroom and climbing the steps to his bed. He fished his hand under his pillow and took out his little read book, "I think I made my first friend, mom." He said softly. "I'm so glad he finally likes me." Harry was in a good mood as he got up and changed into his pajamas; he held his red book close to his heart as he burrowed under the covers and whispered good night to his mother before falling asleep to the sound of a little boy's soprano ringing like white coral bells through his head.

_I followed that song_

_That pretty little song_

_To a place I'll never see_

_Deep inside of me_


	6. Invitation to Love

**5. Invitation to Love**

_Come when the nights are bright with stars_

_Or come when the moon is mellow;_

_Come when the sun his golden bars_

_Drop in the hay-field yellow._

His voice rang out strong and proud as he read the book to his mother, gaining the courage to weave the tale in many tones of voice from the silent reassurance Lily gave to him. Slender fingers carded through his unruly hair as he read; it was a soothing maternal touch and it both delighted Harry and made his heart twinge, for he knew it would never be real. Harry put the thought from his mind as he came to a particularly large word and had to put up an effort not to stumble over it. "Presti- prestidigitation," he forced out the large awkward word, proud that he managed to say it with only the slightest problem.

"Good job, Harry," Lily lauded him. "Now do you know what it means?"

Harry nodded and said, "Prestidigitation: slight of hand." He had looked the word up the first time he had stumbled upon it in his reading. It was admittedly one of the few words that he did not like very much partly because he never could pronounce it correctly on the first attempt and partly because he thought it was stupid to use such a big word for something as simple as slight of hand. Why substitute the three syllable statement for a huge word twice its length? He did develop a respect for the word though, when he'd said it once at the orphanage and the kids thought he was casting a spell on them. It did sound like a magical word and Harry was quite fond of magic, but after moving in with the Malfoys the respect he'd gained for the word subsided as he learned real magical words, none of which were spells but he was sure he would learn some of them when he was older.

"Wonderful, Harry," the illusion of the fifteen year old Lily Potter cheered! Having such a young image of his mother made her feel more like an older sister than a mother to him, but Harry didn't much mind because it was all he had. "Keep reading love," Lily coaxed him. Harry nodded and continued his reading. He hadn't made it much farther when a familiar tapping sound intruded his inner sanctuary. Harry sighed; Ms. Tanner always sent someone to wake him when he'd spent the night reading and slept past breakfast. The knocking at his door wasn't going to go away if he didn't get up.

"Looks like its time we part ways." Lily's voice rang with the sadness that Harry himself was feeling.

Harry nodded and set his book down. "Bye mom." He turned and wrapped his arms around Lily, reluctant to let himself wake.

Lily pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Don't worry Harry," she assured him, "I'll be here when you return."

Before he could reply he heard his name being called outside of his dream and someone was shaking his physical body attempting to wake him. "Come on Harry." Harry was instantly returned to the world of the living. Peeling his eyes open he was greeted by the sight of the last person he has expected to see standing over his bed. "About time you woke." Draco chided. "It's almost time for breakfast," the youngest Malfoy informed him before descending the steps by the bed and making his way towards the en suite bathroom.

"Draco?" Harry inquired when he heard the water running in his bathtub, "What are you doing?"

"Drawing your bath of course." Draco said exiting the bathroom and heading directly for Harry's walk in closet.

"What? Why?" Harry was sure that he must still be dreaming for Draco Malfoy was not the type a person to draw his own bath much less Harry's.

Draco returned to the bedroom holding a set of Harry clothes, "Because you're my boy of course. I have to take care of you." He put the clothes down on the bed and smiled at Harry, "Now get you lazy behind up and go get in the bath. Wear this when you get out. I'll come get you when its time to go down to breakfast." Not giving Harry time to reply Draco exited the bedroom and Harry heard the door in the sitting room open and close. This morning was off to a bizarre start.

_Come in twilight soft and gray,_

_Come in the night or come in the day,_

_Come, O love, whene'er you may_

_And you are welcome, welcome_

Harry shrugged and wiped the last of the sleep from his eyes before pushing himself off the bed. Padding across the soft carpet, Harry made his way to the bathroom, turned off the still running water in the bathtub, stripped off his pajamas, and slipped into the warm water of the bath, relishing in the scent of the fruity bubbles. Like always in his baths; Harry allowed his thoughts to drift away from him allowing words to all unbidden into his mind, "certain peculiar words/ like strengths, squeezed, or squinched/ many-lettered, one-syllabled lumps". Harry chuckled as the lines of Galway Kinnell's poem "Blackberry Eating" drifted through his head, thinking how perfect they were for this moment. Those peculiar words were much more pleasurable to him than the big words he often stumbled over, like prestidigitation for example. A lazy smile curled at his lips as he began to wash himself.

Skin flushed from its washing and hair still dripping water, Harry made his way back to the bedroom where he finished drying himself and pulled on the clothes Draco had taken out for him. They were simple clothes of khaki slacks and a button down shirt, the kind of clothes the Malfoy men wore on the daily basis. "Harry!" His name was being called from the sitting room. "Are you ready yet?" Draco asked letting himself into the bedroom and looking Harry over, he nodded his approval. "C'mon, let's head down to breakfast."

Harry nodded and silently followed Draco from the room; the Malfoy held the door open for him and allowed to exit first before pulling it closed and reclaiming his lead. Draco chatted on about the most random things as they headed down the stairs to the family dining hall, Harry listening intently to all he had to say and vaguely wondering why Draco's waste of words did not bother him as much as other people's. Upon entering the dining hall the Malfoy heir greeted his mother with a kiss in the cheek and then pulled out Harry's chair for him to take a seat. Narcissa watched in amazement at her son's action, but none was more amazed than Harry. Surely spending one stormy night in Draco's presence did not warrant this kind of treatment. Harry had seen how friends interacted at the orphanage and none of them held doors or pulled out chairs for each other; was this a wizard thing or a Draco thing? Holding in his questions, Harry listened as Narcissa questioned her son about his night and whether or not the storm bothered him.

"The storm didn't bother me at all," Draco declared with a broad grin painted across his face, "but it did scare Harry and I had to sing him songs until it ended. Did you know Harry could recite poetry, mother? He recited some for me last night."

_Come when my heart is full of grief_

_Or when my heart is merry;_

_Come with the falling of the leaf_

_Or with the redd'ning cherry._

"No I didn't know that. Is that true, Harry?" Narcissa inquired, Harry nodded. The Lady Malfoy knew that he wouldn't speak if he could avoid it, so she directed her next comment to her son. "You two seem to be getting on well this morn."

Draco smiled and nodded. "Harry is my boy; I have to take care of him."

Before Narcissa could speak on that comment their food arrived. "Oh, I forgot to mention Lucius will not be joining us this morning. Well, let's eat."

A brief silence fell over the table as everyone dug into their food, opting to try a bite or two of everything before resuming their conversation. "Mother, can Harry and I go out to the garden after breakfast?" Draco asked after the silence had stretched on too long for the excitable six year old.

Narcissa shook her head. "The garden is wet and muddy; I will not have you play in such filth. You may play up in your rooms, but do not leave this house."

Draco sighed. "Yes, mother."

"I'm sure Harry will enjoy playing with the toy chest your father just got you."

A large beaming smile spread across Draco face at this statement. "Of course," he declared excitedly, "it's only the most amazing toy chest in existence. It's a magic chest, Harry. You'll never be able to guess what you'll pull out of it next." The rest of the meal went to Draco's chattering about the amazing things the chest had produced for him to play with. Harry hummed and nodded where appropriate and continued on with his meal. Draco took a few pauses between his talking to consume his food as well, but Harry noticed that the blond refused to touch the one egg on his plate.

"Draco, do you not like sunny-side up eggs?" Harry inquired in a low voice that only he and Draco could hear.

Draco looked up at him in surprise at the sudden question, but shook his head negatively and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "They're slimy and disgusting."

Harry nodded absently. He knew Narcissa wasn't going to let Draco away from the table unless his plate was clean and Draco seemed so excited about them going to play with his magical toy chest, Harry had to admit he was more than a little excited as well. It would be a waste if Draco had to spend their playtime sitting at the table trying to force down the slimy eggs. Making a decision that he deemed to be best for them both, Harry glanced up to make sure the Lady Malfoy wasn't looking and swapped his and Draco's plate. He'd already eaten his own egg so all that was left for Draco to eat was the mixed berries Harry had been saving for last because they were his favorite part of the meal. Unfortunately Draco had already eaten most of his berries and only left Harry with a few and of course the dreaded sunny-side up egg.

Draco raised one slender eyebrow, "Are you sure?" He asked softly so as not to gain his mother's attention.

Harry nodded. "I really want to play with you," he admitted sheepishly.

Draco's smile was large enough to split his face in half. "You're a good boy Harry." Harry only nodded and set about finishing off Draco's plate. He'd just finished the egg and was going to the remaining berries when a handful of blueberries and raspberries fell onto his plate. Harry looked up in surprise to see where the fruit had come from.

"Next time let Draco finish his own eggs." Narcissa said, not looking up from the letter she'd spent most of the meal reading, "Now finish your fruit and go play." Harry blushed but ate his berries without complaint.

After the meal was finished Draco eagerly pulled Harry away from the table and all but ran up the stairs to his rooms. The toy chest that Draco had spoken so fondly of was in the blond's bedroom and he sprinted across the floor and threw back the lid on it the moment the two of them entered. Whispering his desire to get something good, Draco plunged his arms into the depths of the bottomless chest. A large grin spread across his face when he retrieved his prize. "We're playing pirates!" he declared, tossing Harry a wooden sword and a pirate's costume. "I'll be captain and you can be my first mate. Together we sail the great seas fighting monsters, finding treasure, and striking fear into the hearts all that dare cross us." Reaching into a pouch that he had pulled out of the chest with the pirate toys Draco held up a smooth gray rock the size of a marble. Closing the stone in his little fist Draco mumbled the words "I want to play pirates" three times before letting the stone fall to the floor. Suddenly the bedroom was transformed. The bed was now a large pirate ship, the floor a sea of intangible water, and the walls that had been a white bordered in blue were now moving images of the sea and the horizon over it. "A glamour stone," Draco explained at Harry's awed expression, "Since kids can't use magic for their games glamour stones come in handy." As he said this Draco pulled his pirate costume on over his clothes and climbed onto the bed-turned-pirate ship. "What are you waiting for Harry, come on."

Snapping out of his shock, Harry grinned and pulled on his own costume. "Aye, aye Captain." He called excitedly, mimicking the pirates from his storybooks, and rushing over to the bed.

"Welcome aboard Mate, I'm the fearsome Captain Malfoy bravest pirate of all the seven seas, and you're first mate Potter, the most loyal pirate a captain can ask for. This is our ship The Narcissa, she has seen us through many of storms and even more adventures. Today we will be sailing to…"

Draco continued to narrate their game of make believe and led them on what Harry thought to be the greatest pirate adventures of all time. They fought three great sea beasts that the glamour stone created for them, found a treasure map, explored dark caves, fought off intruding pirates, took hostages and pushed them overboard, and finally found their treasure only to find it guarded by the huge troll. The troll wounded Draco and he told Harry to go on without him, but Harry being the most loyal pirate in all the seas refused to go on without him. Eventually they managed to fool the troll, get their treasure and return to their ship. But then the ship sunk and Draco pushed Harry into a lifeboat but refused to go with him because a captain always goes down with his ship. Harry wandered the seas alone for a time until he shipwrecked on a deserted island, where he found Draco alive and well because he'd been saved by a mermaid princess. Together the two of them built a new ship and went back to reclaim their title as the greatest pirates in all the seas.

Harry had never laughed or had as much fun as he did during this game with Draco; he even narrated part of the story when Draco couldn't come up with anything. The house elves brought them lunch at some point during their game, but they didn't stop playing to eat it, they only incorporated it into the story. By the time sunset rolled around, the two boys had collapsed into the middle of the floor, still glamoured to look like the sea, in fits of giggles. That was how Narcissa found them when she entered the room to check on them.

"Well you two look like you're having a great time," she chuckled.

Draco hopped to his feet a drew his woodened sword, "Halt, who goes there, you've entered the territory of Captain Malfoy and First-Mate Potter, the most fearsome pirates in all the seas."

"Is that so?" Narcissa asked, raising one slender eyebrow, her arms hidden behind her back innocently. Harry saw her lips moving as she mumbled some words he didn't quite catch. "Well I, Captain Narcissa Black the greatest woman pirate alive am here to challenge you for that title." She pulled from behind her back a wooden sword like Harry and Draco had been playing with.

"You shall not take our title as long as I'm still breathing." Draco raised his sword threateningly, before turning to his playmate, "Come on Harry let's show her why no one messes with us." With only a moment's hesitation Harry got to his feet and raised his own sword. The fight was on. Narcissa expertly defended attacks from both Harry and Draco, but the boys were determined and refused to give up.

In the end she managed to defeat them both, first disarming Harry and stealing his sword, then knocking Draco off his feet and placing the tip of her sword to his neck before he could get back up. "Do you yield?" Narcissa demanded.

"Never," Draco growled.

"Then so be it, you shall die and honorable death defending your treasure like any pirate should. On you knees pirate."

Hanging his head in defeat, Draco rose to his knees and his mother raised her sword as if to behead him. Harry acted without thinking; he pushed himself up and threw himself between Draco and the threatening blade. "Harry!" Draco called out, "Oh Harry, did you just die for me?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Most loyal first-mate a captain could ask for, right?"

Draco smiled back and petted Harry's unruly black hair, "Right. I shall not let your sacrifice be in vain. I will defend our treasure." Grabbing his sword, Draco launched to his feet and attacked the lady pirate. Harry remained where he had "died" on the floor watching as the battle commenced. In the end Narcissa's sword flew from her hand and Draco claimed victory.

"I yield." Narcissa growled though it didn't sound as reluctant as she wanted it to through her ceaseless giggles.

"No victory is worth the life of my most loyal first mate." Draco allowed his sword to fall to the ground without taking Narcissa's life.

"Now Draco," a cool voice drawled from the doorway, "I'm sure I've taught to always finish the things you start." Lucius Malfoy chastised his son, "What if she comes back and challenges you again? What would Harry think of you not avenging his sacrifice?"

Draco looked at his father defiantly. "She will not challenge me again after I abandon her on a deserted island, but blood begets more blood and Harry's death will not be honored in such away."

Lucius seemed to think that over for a moment, and Harry had to wonder how much weight the six year old's words held. Finally nodding his acceptance Lucius said, "You lot should clean up; its time for dinner."

_Come when the year's first blossom blows,_

_Come when summer gleams and glows, _

_Come with winter's drifting snows,_

_And you are welcome, welcome._

_-Paul Laurence Dunbar_


	7. Nature is All of Me

Sorry for taking so long to post this chapter, I have a system for these things that says I can't post a chapter without having the next chapter already written, and my plot bunnies have been so evil that I haven't been able to finish the next chapter. Again sorry.

After this chapter there will be two more chapters with them as six/seven year olds, then it will jump to one or two chapters as eight year olds, followed by a few chapters as them as ten/eleven year olds. Then we're going to speed through their years at Hogwarts until we reach sixth year where the majority of the major plot elements takes place. Just thought I'd let you all know.

Poem "Nature is All of Me" is property of R.R. Cannon

OOPS! Sorry. I can't believe that I never noticed in all this time, the chapter before this one was the wrong chapter. Go back and read chapter 5(6) before reading this one.

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**6. Nature is All of Me**

_I am a bird kept in a cage_

_Looked at and admired day after day_

_Dreaming of the sky, but waiting_

_For my master to open the door_

_Knowing that if the door is not closed_

_I'll fly away to freedom- but I'll always_

_Come back, I'm loyal like that_

The sweltering summer sun beat down upon the land like waves of molten lava, baking everything it touched despite the fact that it was still the supposedly cool hours before noon. Even in the shadows of the large hedgerows of plants and flowers the heat was uncomfortable to say the least. The cooling charm cast on them before he had left the house was of some help, but still the sun stung against Harry's exposed skin. He tried to stick to the deeper shadows of the hedges as he made his way through the large garden maze on the Malfoy's property, but they were of little aid.

What did seem to help was the trick he'd picked up from one of his books; with only the slightest effort he was able to imagine himself some place cooler and fooled his mind into ignoring the bothersome heat. He imagined himself once again huddled in the cupboard that had been his room back when he lived with who his young mind at the time had decided to call the Big People. His cupboards had always been cold in the winter, almost unbearably so, and a bit drafty in the spring and fall.

Thoughts of his cupboard in the winter were all he needed to cool himself as he slunk around another corner of the maze searching for his target. Harry had thought it peculiar that the Malfoy garden was situated in the middle of a maze and in order to access it one must first traverse the confusing labyrinth, but he had to agree with Draco that the area made a great place to play tag, especially once he had been assured that if he got lost all he had to do was call for Dobby to be taken out of it.

For the last ten minutes he'd been successfully getting himself lost in his attempts to find Draco. At first he's done a pretty good job of remembering the path he had taken, but the deeper he got into the maze the more confused be became and he'd forgotten the correct pattern of left and right turns he had taken to get here. If he didn't find Draco soon he would have to call for Dobby and forfeit the game. Making a left turn Harry found himself faced with a dead end. Turning back around and continuing straight instead led him to another dead in.

Backtracking and taking the first available right led his somewhere he was sure he'd already been. Somewhere off to his left the heard the unmistakably sound of Draco giggling and calling for Harry to come find him. Running in that direction, Harry listened intently for further sounds coming from his play mate. The sound of his name being called rang out over the hedgerows of the maze and all Harry had to do was follow it.

"Harry! You found me!" Draco called enthusiastically once Harry rounded the final corner. "Took you long enough."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I got lost," he admitted in a soft voice.

"Well you're here now." Draco smiled, "C'mon, let's go in the garden." Harry hadn't realized it before, but he and Draco were standing in front of a large glass building that he recognized to be a green house. Draco grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him through the door and into a forest of sweet smelling flowers.

Everywhere Harry turned there was a rainbow of fresh blooms. Shades of pink, red, and orange mixed with shades of blue, black, and violet in a kaleidoscope of springtime colors all growing in the heat of the summer. It was beautiful and simply mesmerizing none of Harry's precious words could begin to explain the sight before him. Gorgeous, awe-inspiring, apt descriptions but they didn't quite measure up.

"C'mon, Harry." Draco said tugging at Harry's arms, "Don't you want to see the flowers?" In a daze Harry nodded and followed Draco deeper into the floral forest. "You see these?" Draco asked stopping in front of a plot of flowers colored an alluring violet shade with white rimmed edges, "They're called Gloxinias," Draco seemed to have a slight difficulty making his mouth form the strange word that seemed the perfect name for the gorgeous flowers, "Mother says they mean love at first sight." He tugged Harry towards a cluster of little blue flowers, "Forget-me-nots, true love and memories." He pulled Harry to another plot of flowers, "Tulips each color means something different. Red is 'believe me, a declaration of love', yellow is 'there's sunshine in your smile' and the var-variegated mean 'beautiful eyes'. Over there are the apology flowers, purple hyacinth. They mean 'I'm sorry, please forgive me, and are expressions of sorrow.'"

_I am a chrysalis on a tree_

_Wrapped around myself where all is safe_

_Tough on the outside, but not inside_

_Deep within myself I lie_

_Not yet a butterfly- but I will be soon_

_I know I will_

Harry's lips moved silently as he repeated all the flower names and their meanings to himself, trying to set them to memory. "Do all flowers have a meaning?" he inquired.

Draco nodded, "Mother says that flowers speak a language of their own. She says that by the time I go off to Hogwarts I should be a master of the language. I don't really know why, but I don't mind. I think they're really pretty."

Harry nodded and said softly, "Beautiful."

Draco grinned that face splitting grin Harry was becoming used to seeing, "C'mon, I'll show you some more."

The rest of the morning went to them going through the flowers, Draco naming and giving the meaning to the ones he knew, just admiring the ones Draco didn't know, and then eventually going back out to the maze to resume their game of tag. By the time Dobby showed up to take them out of the maze for lunch the boys were both sticky with sweat and filthy from their play in the dirt and leaves. Narcissa took one look at them and sent them up to their rooms to wash up and change their clothes before the meal. As recent habits dictated, Draco first came into Harry's rooms and picked out his clothes for him but because they were only washing up it didn't require him to draw a full bath, so after laying the clothes out Draco headed to his own rooms to wash and change.

By the time Harry exited his bedroom, Draco was already in the sitting room waiting for him. Draco held the door open for him and as always took the lead and monopolized the conversation as they headed down and joined the others. For a change in scenery lunch was being served out on the patio deck in the shade of an awning doused in specialized cooling charms. The meal was a simple affair of lunchmeat sandwiches with watermelon slices and cups of some type of sweet juice that Harry couldn't quite pinpoint the flavor of. Conversation during the meal centered round plans for Draco's upcoming birthday party and what presents he hoped to receive. Harry didn't have anything to add to the conversation because he still thought himself uninvited to the party and even if he was invited he had no gift to give the boy he was quickly coming to think of as his first and only friend.

"Mother, after lunch can Harry and I play with my toy-brooms? Harry has never ridden one and I want to show him how." Draco's topic change piqued Harry's interest and the green eyed boy looked up silently begging for a positive answer. Draco had told him about flying brooms and Harry was more than a little eager to give it a try.

"I don't see why not." Narcissa mused, "but you know the rules: don't go in the house or the maze on them."

Draco smiled large and nodded. "Thank you, mother."

Narcissa gave a small smile before turning to her husband and engaging him in conversation. "Lucius Darling, I need to make a trip to Diagon Alley and maybe Le Rue de Saint Martine, will you be able to stay here with the boys?"

Lucius seemed to think it over for a second before nodding, "I don't have anything else planned for today."

_I am a river cutting my path_

_Always flowing and changing never stopping_

_I carry secrets beneath my surface_

_There's enough depth to swallow you up_

_I pull you in- never let you go_

_Not ever_

The toy brooms were smaller than actual brooms, they only allowed you to go a certain distance off the ground, and didn't let you fly faster than a certain speed. At least that's what Draco had said. But despite their limitations they were still quite fun, again Draco's words for Harry hadn't ridden one yet. Harry held the broom cautiously; the wooden handle was smooth as silk beneath his fingers. Draco smiled and urged him to give it a try while Lucius sat on the patio watching them over the top of his newspaper. Swallowing hard, Harry followed Draco's instructions and straddled the broom and gripped the handle perhaps a little too tightly.

An undignified squeak escaped his mouth as the broom shot forward, but then any fear he might have had melted away. So this is what it felt like to fly. It was an amazing feeling, invigorating. With skill he didn't know he had, Harry expertly maneuvered the broom through the air, making slow twists and sharp turns, going as high as the broom would allow him and diving back down. The wind pressed against him trying to impede his process, but Harry easily overcame the wind resistance and continued his flight. This was a freedom that could only be compared to when he escaped into his storybooks, and even that wasn't a pertinent comparison. Down on the ground he could hear Draco calling out to him. Harry only wanted to fly higher; he never wanted to come down. He was vaguely aware of Draco mounting his second broom and flying towards him, but that was of little importance to him at the moment. "Harry," Draco called pulling up beside him.

Harry turned to his blond playmate and grinned. "Catch me if you can." he called and then he was off. Harry led Draco on a chase around the backyard making sharp turns and dives, swerving around trees and pushing the broom as fast as it would go. Soon the game of tag became a game of follow the leader as Draco strove to emulate everything Harry did. They became so lost in their game neither of them noticed when Lucius put down his newspaper and slunk into the house until he suddenly appeared in the air next to them on is own broom.

"How about heading down and I'll give you both a ride on my broom," Lucius offered. The boys chorused their excitement before landing their toy-brooms. Soon Harry was flying through the sky with Lucius, going higher than the toys would allow. Harry smiled and begged to go higher. Lucius chuckled and warned him to hold on. They climbed higher and higher and then Lucius angled them towards the ground and they were falling like a stone. Harry squealed in fearful delight and held tightly to the broom. The feeling was both heart-wrenching and invigorating.

Lucius pulled out of the dive just barely a foot above the ground and Harry couldn't stop the giggles from flooding from his mouth. Draco applauded and Lucius chuckled again before they once more took off like a bullet through the air. The Malfoy patriarch took them through a series of loop-de-loops and figure eights. Harry was having so much fun he didn't want to land and give Draco a turn. As if his silent wish had been heard, Harry saw someone shooting towards them out of the corner of his eye. Narcissa had returned from her shopping and now joined them in their flying with Draco on her broom. Suddenly they were caught up in a game of tag, mixed with the game chicken, mixed with follow the leader. Lucius was willing to pull more stunts that Narcissa, but Narcissa had no qualms with speed. The two six year olds set in front of the elder Malfoys edging them on. Somewhere along the line the adults landed and switched passengers and Harry ended up riding with Narcissa while Draco rode with his father. By the time they landed the brooms for good the sun had set and it was time for dinner.

_I am a flower in a greenhouse_

_One of the more beautiful sorts_

_By day I flaunt my petals and grace_

_By night I close in on myself to reflect_

_Just to flaunt my petals again_

_With the coming of the sun_

After washing up they all met in the family dining hall and ate the dinner the house elves had made while engaging in joyous conversation about the fun they had had flying together. They all agreed that it would be fun to do it again sometimes, and perhaps Harry and Draco were skilled enough to use real brooms instead of just toys. Both Lucius and Draco complimented Harry on his natural flying ability and Lucius agreed to take the boys to a Quidditch match one of these days.

Once the meal was over Narcissa sent the boys off the take their baths and Draco begged her to let him and Harry bathe together 'because it would be more fun that way'. After a while Narcissa gave her consent and Draco dragged Harry off to the bath in his rooms. Draco's bath was much like Harry's, large and white, but his had various bath toys. There were tug boats, whales that actually squirted water, toy fishes that swam beneath the water and nibbled on their toes, and special colored bath potions that acted as both soap and body paint. They spent the bath playing with the boats, splashing each other, and taking turns using the colored potions to finger paint on each other. Draco turned a knob that Harry had noticed in his bath but didn't know what it did, turns out it activated a small waterfall for washing your hair without having to stand up under the shower sprout, though they had more fun using the waterfall as part of their games.

After the got out of the tub and dried themselves with overly large and fluffy towels, they pulled on their pajamas and made their way out into Draco's bedroom where Narcissa was waiting for them. Narcissa hadn't even the chance to speak before Draco ran to her and begged, "Mother can Harry _please _sleep with me tonight? I promise we will behave and we won't stay up _too _late, pretty please Mother, s'il vous plait?"

Narcissa seemed unsure about it but finally gave in. "Yay!" Draco cheered, "C'mon Harry, we're going to have a sleepover. It's going to be so much fun." Narcissa tucked the two boys in and wished them a good night and pleasant dreams before turning out the main light causing the night light to come on. A motif of dragon lights flew around the ceiling of the room as Draco snuggled up close to Harry. "Harry, tell me some of your words."

Harry thought about it for a second and asked, "What do you want to hear, a poem or a story?"

"Do you know any fairy-tales? Muggle ones I mean, I know wizarding fairy-tales but not any muggle ones."

Harry chewed on his lower lip as he tried to think of a story to tell Draco. "Do you know the story of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys?" Harry could feel Draco shaking his head no even though he couldn't see him without his glasses.

"Tell it to me."

Harry nodded and chewed his lower lip again trying to decide where to start, "Once upon a time in a place called Neverland there lived a boy name Peter Pan who never had to grow up. In fact no one in Neverland ever had to grow up. It's the only place where you can be a kid forever. But the problem is it's hard to get to Neverland because you need pixie dust to fly there, or we could just fly on our brooms I suppose. Well anyway, to get to Neverland you have to fly through the second star on the right and straight on until morning. Peter Pan lives in Neverland where he's the leader of a group called the Lost Boys. Peter Pan's greatest enemy is the evil pirate Captain Hook…"

Harry went on to tell Draco all about Neverland, Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and all the great adventures the group had. Draco thought the story was hilarious and often broke out into fits of giggles during it, but by the time Harry finished the story Draco was fast asleep. Harry smiled down as his blond playmate; he really was enjoying living with the Malfoys and having fun with Draco. "My very own Peter Pan," Harry whispered softly. Before letting his eyes fall closed. He dreamed of him and Draco taking brooms and flying off the Neverland where they had tons of adventures with Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and they never had to grow up.

_I am all of nature_

_As solid as the ground, as strong as a tree_

_As deep as the ocean, as free as the sky_

_I am all of nature- and nature_

_Is all of me_


	8. A Birthday

**A Birthday**

_My heart is like a bird singing_

_Whose nest is a water'd shoot;_

_My heart is like an apple-tree_

_whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;_

The air was heavy with a feel of anticipation and excitement. Everything had to be perfect, everything had to be in its place. Decorations had to be hung. Food had to be prepared. Games had to be set up. Presents had to be wrapped. One little boy had to be dressed to impress. One little boy had to be completely forgotten.

Draco hadn't gotten Harry's clothes out for him. He hadn't drawn his bath. He hadn't even come to wake him. Harry had peeled his eyes open of his own accord and vaguely wondered where Draco was. Thinking his playmate might not be feeling well, Harry had slunk out of his rooms still dressed in his pajamas and padded barefoot across the hall to Draco's rooms, only to pause before knocking as a voice drifted up to him from down the stairs. Walking over to the railing, Harry peered down and was greeted by the sight of the Malfoy matriarch standing like a general before and army of House Elves, commanding them to take care of some task or other, while Draco stood at her side practically bouncing up and down from excitement. How could Harry had forgotten? Today was the Malfoy heir's seventh birthday. No wonder he hadn't come to wake him. Harry was of little importance on this day.

Not allowing himself to dwell on this too long, Harry turned quickly on his heels, rushed back to his rooms, grabbed a random book from the shelves in the sitting room, threw open the French doors in his bedroom, and began the slow careful progress of climbing to the roof. If they wanted to forget about him today then he would forget about them, too. The early June sun was warm against his skin and the light breeze ruffled his hair gently. It was a nice day, all things considered.

Harry looked down at the book brought with him and wrinkled his nose in distaste. He'd learned a couple of weeks ago that all the books on his sitting room's shelves weren't for kids. There was a large variety of books from faiytales to mystery novels and the one he was currently holding happened to be a mushy romance novel. A mushy romance novel with the ability to magically transform the protagonist into the reader. Draco had explained this type of book to him: to make it work you plucked a strand of hair from your head and closed it inside the book, or you could prick a finger and let the blood fall on the title page. The magic of the book would read your DNA and the magical signature attached to the hair or blood and would rewrite the story so that the main character had all the traits of the reader. Draco had a couple of children's books like this and Harry had enjoyed reading them, but really did not want to read a women's romance novel like this because he knew from experience no matter who the reader was, the main character's love interest would always be male.

_My heart is like a rainbow shell_

_That paddles in a halcyon;_

_My heart is gladder than all of these_

_Because my love is come to me;_

Deciding he would rather not waste time going to get a different book and that anything would be better than nothing, Harry gingerly pulled a strand of his dark as night hair and closed it in the book. A pale yellow light pulsated from the cover of the book, flashed a light green color and went out. Harry opened the book and read the first page. Sure enough there was a description of him as a twenty-three year old man. Harry was in awe of how much the book could tell about him from the single strand of his hair, though it had altered a few details such as his age to make it fit with the storyline. Wizards had found depths to genetics that Muggles had barely even scratched the surface of. Magic never ceased to amaze him.

Putting those thoughts aside, Harry delved into the world of words on paper. He had to give himself credit for being able to read the more explicit scenes with a certain level of maturity absent in most six year olds, though then again most six year olds weren't privy to the world of adult erotica novels, and there was the fact that his innocent mind didn't fully comprehend what he was reading. Nonetheless, Harry kept a straight face and only blushed a little during the more intimate moments of the novel, and like always he made mental notes of words he didn't know so that he could look them up at a later time.

Harry wasn't sure how long he had been reading when he heard his name being called from somewhere below him, not saying very much seeing as how the whole house was below his perch on the roof above his bedroom. "Harry, where are you?" a familiar voice inquired, causing him to look up from his book in surprise, surely that wasn't _really _Draco calling him. "Harry!" Letting his book slip from his hands, Harry scrambled over to the edge of the roof and looked down just in time to see Draco re-entering the house from the balcony of Harry's room. Wasting no time, Harry turned to the tedious task of lowering himself down to the balcony.

The fear of having his legs flailing around in thin air returned and Harry squeezed his eyes closed as his feet searched to find purchase. His left foot connected with the thin metal railing and he let out a sigh or relief before lowering is right foot to the rail. A surprised scream escaped his mouth as his right foot slipped from the rail, completely throwing off his balance. A heavy fear fell over him as he windmilled his arms in futile attempts to catch himself, but he already knew it was too late, he could already feel himself falling. "Harry!" He heard his name being called, but didn't bother opening his eyes. If he was lucky he would fall towards the safety of the balcony. If he was lucky magic would catch him before it was too late. If he was lucky-- A strong hand wrapped around his small wrist and Harry felt himself being yanked away from the direction he had been falling in. He felt himself fall a short distance and he collided into something warm. It took him a moment to register what had just happened. It took a moment for the last shreds of the heavy fear to evaporate from his small body.

Finally the fear left him and he forced his evergreen eyes open to find his face was buried against soft black cloth, and strong arms were surrounding him protectively. He looked up and found a man with eyes black like onyx, set into a pale face, and framed by jet black hair falling in barely there curls, peering down at him curiously. The man lowered him to the ground gently and asked, "Are you alright?"

Harry blushed and nodded sheepishly, suddenly aware that he had just been saved from a potentially deadly fall by a man he did not even know. This whole situation could have be disastrous.

"What were you doing up there?" The question sounded more like a harsh reprimand for doing something stupid and didn't come from the man who had saved him, but from a furious looking Malfoy patriarch standing by the balcony doors. Harry hadn't even noticed Lucius or Draco Malfoy standing out on the balcony with him and the unknown man. Draco was looking at him with a complicated mix of confusion, worry, devastation, and relief. The birthday boy looked as if he didn't know rather to run and hug Harry or push him off the balcony for his stupidity. Lucius hard slate grey eyes were saying he was still waiting for Harry to answer his question.

"I-" Harry swallowed down the last bit of fear that was lodged like a lump in his throat threatening to fetter his words, "I go up there sometimes to read, sir. I like being up high." Harry couldn't help but squirming under the three sets of eyes fixed on him.

"That is both stupid and dangerous," Lucius chastised. "What would have happened had one of us not been here to save you? Not even the strongest accidental magic could have protected you from such a fall."

"Lucius, enough." The hard command came from the dark haired man who had saved Harry. "I'm sure the boy is aware of his own stupidity. You need not remind him." The man freed Harry from the calculating scrutiny of his onyx eyes as he spoke to the Malfoy patriarch.

"Are you really one to talk, Severus?" Lucius asked, turning his cool grey gaze to the man. The two of them standing juxtapose brought to mind an image of light and dark, for that was how different they were. If Lucius was light then the one called Severus was dark. Every part of Lucius was light. Every part of Severus was shadows. Which brings the argument of rather shadows could really be considered part of the dark since they could not exist without light. "I'm sure your students are aware of their own stupidity," Lucius voice came out in a slightly bored, but still kind of harsh drawl, "yet you have no qualms with calling them on it."

"That's a different situation, entirely." Severus turned his eyes back to Harry. "Surely that's not-" It almost sounded as if he was talking to himself.

"But it is," Lucius drawled before turning to the younger males. "Draco, take Harry and help him get ready for the party."

Harry had forgotten all about Draco's presence on the balcony, so lost he was in the word exchange of the older generation. It seemed Draco had momentarily forgotten himself as well, for his father's words took a moment for him to process enough to pull his stardust colored eyes away from Severus. "Yes, Father," the youngest Malfoy said, snapping back to himself and rushing over to Harry's side. He grabbed his playmate's hand and dragged him back into the house, the older Malfoy and Severus following a pace behind and exiting the rooms. "Harry, you had me so worried," Draco chided. "I came to get you and you were no where to be found. I had to go get Father and Uncle Sev, but they couldn't find you either. And then we heard you scream. I thought you were going to fall to you death. It scared me senseless. Don't you ever do that again. You are to never go up there again, do you hear me, Harry. I was so worried about you."

As Draco reprimanded Harry like an overprotective parent would, the blond also worked on drawing Harry's bath and retrieving him a change of clothes from the closet. He ended his tirade standing in front of the diminutive boy, hands on his slender hips, and a reproaching look on his face. Harry could do naught but stare down at his feet, nod, and blush sheepishly. "Right!" Draco quipped. "You need to bathe and get dressed. The party starts in half an hour and the guest will be arriving soon. Harry nodded submissively and headed into the bathroom as bidden.

_Raise me a dais of silk and down;_

_Hang it with vair and purple dyes;_

_Carve it in doves and pomegranates;_

_And peacocks with a hundred eyes;_

Just over twenty minutes later, Harry returned to his bedroom and found the clothes Draco had left out for him. His brow creased in confusion as he looked at the garments; he'd often seen Lucius Malfoy and sometimes Narcissa dressed in traditional Wizards' robes, but he and Draco had never been made to wear them around the house. A small frown tugged at his lips as he pulled the strange clothing on, only to allow the frown to melt into a smile. He felt like a real Wizard now. It was strange how a simple change in clothing could change his view of himself. Before, he'd known he was a Wizard, Lucius had told him as much, but he'd been a Wizard in name and strange occurrences only. Now he was a Wizard in appearance as well.

After he finished getting dressed, and making futile attempts of getting his hair under control, Harry headed out of his rooms and descended the stairs silently. Low voices drifted to him from the foyer and he headed in that direction. The foyer was brightly decorated in lively colors and thrummed with the lifeline of a gathering of people all speaking at once. The room was somewhat crowded, with a group of women gathered at one end chatting amicably as a group of about eight children crowded around the other end of the room. Harry glimpsed a few men hovering around the women, but there were far fewer of them. Harry loomed close to the door, nervous to enter a room filled with so many strangers, true enough Narcissa was playing hostess to the women and he had briefly seen Draco's blond head within the crowd of children, but everyone else were strangers. He briefly entertained the idea of slinking back out of the room unnoticed, but that option was taken from him when he heard Draco's excited voice call out to him.

"Harry, there you are!" the blond said, pushing passed the other children to rush to Harry's side. "What took you so long? Come on, I want you to meet everyone."

Harry didn't say anything as Draco dragged him over to other children who were all watching him with curious looks. "Guys," Draco called the group's attention to him, "this is Harry Potter. Harry these guys are Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, and Pansy Parkinson." Harry smiled shyly as he was introduced to all the kids.

"_The _Harry Potter?" one of them asked, Harry wasn't sure which but he knew it was one of the girls.

"Well he's sure not Merlin himself." One of the boys snipped back before turning to Harry with a big smile on his face, his dark eyes shone with amusement from beneath long black lashes. "Hello Harry, I'm Draco's best mate, Blaise."

"Hullo," Harry mumbled softly, only to mentally reprimand himself for doing so. If he was going to use words in idle chatter he could at least say them with some confidence. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." he added louder to prove to himself that he was in fact confident. He wasn't sure why, but he knew he couldn't appear weak in front of this crowd. They might have only been six year olds just like himself, but if he seemed even the smallest bit weak they would eat him alive, of that he was sure.

The boy, Blaise, smiled wider. "I assure you the pleasure is all mine."

Harry smiled back at him as Draco began to speak. "Now that we're all here we can get this party started. First things first, we're having a toy-broom race in the backyard. After that we'll be have a scavenger hunt in the maze, and then..." Draco went on to list all the events planned for the day and the other children listened with growing excitement. Before Harry realized it, they had all moved outside and the fun and games began.

Harry learned right away to stick close to Draco and Blaise. Theodore Nott was more than a bit of a prat: he got mad when Harry beat him in the broom race and set about tormenting him the rest of the day until Blaise realized what he was doing and stood up for Harry. Crabbe and Goyle were nice enough, but they seemed more than a little brainless to Harry and he feared loosing his ability to entertain educated company if he stayed close to them too long. To put it simply, Pansy Parkinson was spoilt rotten and was too concerned about wrinkling or dirtying her robes to participate in any of the games. Daphne Greengrass was ok for a girl; she cared much less about her appearance and wasn't afraid to play rough with the boys, but her mother was mortified when she saw her wrestling in the grass with Blaise and forbade her from playing anymore. Millicent Bulstode was Nott's partner in crime when it came to tormenting Harry. Blaise, however, was fun and likable, he always had a smile, and Harry was grateful to the black boy for sticking up for him.

Despite of everything, Harry had a great time at the party and really came out of his shy little shell. Afternoon came faster than expected, and the party moved to the patio to have lunch and open presents before the girls left. The reason that the party had taken place in the morning was so that most of the outdoor activities could be finished before the sun reached it's peak. After lunch the girls would be leaving, but all the boys would be staying for a sleepover. Once the females were gone, the plan was to spend the rest of the day playing in the lake at the rear of the Malfoy property.

Lucius and the man Severus joined them for lunch and once everyone finished their meals Draco began opening his presents. Draco loved all his gifts, which ranged from a junior potions kit from Severus to a mirror and brush set from Pansy. After Draco gave his thanks to Crabbe for the set of gobstones, Lucius stood up and smiled at his son. "Are you ready for the gift from me and your mother?" he asked and Draco gave an enthusiastic affirmative. "Well actually, we got a gift for Harry as well," Lucius said as Narcissa approached with two wrapped parcels in a familiar shape. "We thought the two of you were ready for these." Draco's and Harry's eyes were mirrored images of wide-eyed shock as they peeled away the wrapping on two brand new, finely polished broomsticks. Actual broomsticks, not the toy brooms they'd been using before.

"Thank you Father, thank you!" Draco yelled, wrapping his arms around his father in excitement. "I love it! Thank you so much."

Harry just stared at his broom in complete shock.

"Calm down, Draco," Lucius chuckled. "Don't forget though, the same rules apply for these as for the toy brooms, stay out of the maze and away from the house."

"Yes, Father, of course." Draco said absently, his attention was once again on his broom.

"And you, Harry?" Lucius inquired, his storm cloud grey eyes fixed on the silent brunet.

"Sir?" Harry asked, he hadn't heard the question.

"Do you understand the rules?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. Th-thank you." He couldn't keep his voice from cracking, no one had ever given him anything as great as this. He didn't know what to say, and it was a battle just to keep tears from his jade eyes.

"You're welcome," Lucius said with a small smile. Harry couldn't help but smile back as he locked eyes with the man who had already done so much for him.

"Wow, Harry," someone said, drawing his attention away from the Malfoy patriarch, "that's a great broom. Keep an eye on it, or I just might steal it." Blaise grinned at him mischievously.

"You'll do no such thing." Harry shot back with a grin. "You better go steal Draco's."

"But Draco might try to beat me up. Why can't I just take yours?"

"Because I'll beat you up if you touch his as well." Draco declared.

"Fine, I won't steal your broom... if you let me ride it."

The girls and their parents left soon after this and the boys all took turns zooming around the backyard on Draco's and Harry's brooms. Apparently most Wizarding children didn't get their first real broom until at least age eight, most not until age nine. So they had not flown solo on a real broom before and relished the opportunity.

Eventually they put the brooms away and returned to their original plans of going swimming and hanging out by the lake. At half passed six they were called in for dinner, which was served in the formal dining hall, then they were sent to take their baths and change into their pajamas. The sleepover was to be held in one of the empty rooms in the wing of the house where Harry and Draco stayed. Draco had the house elves bring his bottomless toy chest and his glamour stone over and they spent the evening playing out different scenarios. Finally, when the clock neared the ten o'clock mark, Narcissa came and ordered them all to bed. Draco used the glamour stone to transform the room into a dark forest and they all laid out their sleeping bags around an artificial fire. The house elves brought them all mugs of warm milk, except for Theo because his mother had warned he wasn't allowed to have liquids after eight or else he might have a little accident, and they went around the circle telling scary stories.

"Harry," Draco said when the room had fallen into a lasting silence after Blaise completed his ghost story, "tell us one of your Muggle fairytales."

Harry nodded and began to think of a story to tell. "Have any of you heard the story about the genie and the Prince of Thieves?" he inquired, and after receiving the reply that none of them had heard it, Harry began to spin the story for them, manipulating words and gestures to stress the beauty of the tale.

_Work it in gold and silver grapes,_

_In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;_

_Because the birthday of my life_

_Is come, my love is come to me._


	9. One Art

Hello. I found this chapter extremely hard to write, but the next chapter was even harder to write and that's why it took so long to get it posted. I worked really hard on it and I really hope you enjoy it. Review please.

I have three requests to make: I need poems, I'm running out and am considering cutting them from the story all together if I can't fiond any good one, I request both original pieces and classics, no limit really. Request number two: I would just love some story art of this fiction, there's so many cute scenes between our young protaganists and I would just love to see pictures of it (may I specically request six year old Harry and Draco playing pirates or sleeping in the same bed). My last request is: I need a new beta. My dear friend and former beta Yushina Janke has a bust summer ahead of her and can no longer beta for me. So, poems, art, and a new beta, please.

Thank You.

~Itami

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**8. One Art**

_The art of losing isn't hard to master;  
so many things seem filled with the intent  
to be lost that their loss is no disaster,_

The rain fell in large tear drops that _pitter-pattered_ against the balcony stones. The sky was dark with clouds. The air was heavy. The day was sad. Harry looked mournfully out his French doors watching as the grounds of the manor got drenched and drowned under the cold heavy downpour. He was bound indoors, within the lonely walls of his rooms. Despite the fact that he'd smelled the rain coming from a mile a way, Harry was still disappointed with its arrival. The love/hate relationship he had with the rain was leaning more towards hate at the moment, and all because Draco wasn't available to keep him company.

It wasn't like he _needed_ his playmate with him every moment of everyday, but in all honesty he had become accustomed to the other's constant presence since the morning after the first thunderstorm. The morning when their friendship had first began to bud. Since that fated morning they had spent every waking moment together from breakfast to bedtime. But for the past few weeks after Draco's seventh birthday, the blond hadn't had any time for playing with Harry.

True, this wasn't really Draco's fault; Lucius had been dominating his son's attention and left him no opportunity to play with Harry. Most of the day the Malfoy heir was holed up in his father's study doing Merlin only knows what. Harry only got to see him in the approximate half hour they came out for lunch, and sometimes they didn't even come out and had lunch delivered to them in there instead.

When the Malfoy men did come out, Draco was always tired and had no energy to play with Harry. He would apologize and offer a small smile that was in no way as genuine as the ones he'd shared with Harry before. Draco was no longer the picture of youthful exuberance he had once been. At dinner (for that was a meal he always attended since dinnertime was family time in the Malfoy home) he would sit sedately in his seat, pick at his food, and only talk when spoken to. Gone was the boy who was overbearingly "hyppy" (Harry had coined that word when he realized no existing words could quite summarize Draco's happy and hyper personality). Gone was the boy who prattled on a mile a minute, spinning his excitement into what, if it had been anyone else, Harry would have called a waste of words.

Instead, in place of the Draco Harry had come to know and love there, sat a quiet boy of perfect mannerism, but with no real emotions showing in what had at one time been shining mischievous eyes. They didn't even bathe and sleep together anymore, instead Draco would finish his meal in detachment, ask to be excused, say his good-nights, and disappear up to his rooms.

For lack of a better term, Draco seemed to Harry to be "haunted". But not haunted in the traditional sense of the word. No, it was more like the blond boy was being weighed down by some unknown force and his life was being leeched out of him. He was carrying a burden that only he and his father knew the true weight of. The light was dimming from his stardust eyes and teardrops were falling from the skies.

Harry worried his lower lip between his teeth thoughtfully, maybe whatever Lucius was doing with his son in that room was bad... Harry was more than a little curious to know what was going on behind those closed doors, but he was sure he had no right to know.

Emerald eyes stared out into the gloom of the back gardens and Harry felt a pang at the memory of him and Draco racing around on their new brooms while the blond's friends watched in envy and awe. The happy memory had seemed ages ago. Even the gardens seemed to be mourning the lost of those days. The brilliant colors Harry had loved so much were dulled under a sheet of darkness. Ominous. Foreboding. Depressing. Heartbreaking. Apt descriptions, but...

"Master Harry Potter, sir." Dobby suddenly popped into existence next to Harry. "Dobby has been sent to fetch Harry Potter for lunch, sir."

Harry smiled solemnly at the house elf. "Thank you, Dobby, I'll be down in a moment."

The house elf nodded and vanished from the room. Harry remained standing by his window a bit longer, Narcissa wouldn't mind if he took sometime coming down. Over the past few weeks Harry and Narcissa had developed an understanding with each other, a type of friendship if you please, or a mutual codependency on the other's company. After the first few days spent in isolation and unwanted solitude, Narcissa had taken the initiative to begin their acquaintanceship. Harry had been up in his rooms reading on the sitting room couch when the Lady Malfoy had entered to check on him. Some kind of way this led to Harry reciting for her some of his favorite words, _'no, poems; Draco said they were called poems'_.

_Lose something every day. Accept the fluster  
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.  
The art of losing isn't hard to master._

After the first day Narcissa's visits became a normal occurrence. Within a week they had taken to walking the garden maze together in comfortable silence. This had morphed into Narcissa watching Harry as he whizzed around the lawns on his broom and spending solitary lunches engaged in polite conversation. Narcissa was nice and Harry had grown quite fond of her; he could almost see her as the mother he had never had, but she was still no substitute for spending time with Draco. To put it simply: Harry missed his blond playmate very much.

Finally pulling himself away from the dreary scene outside the window and the depressing thoughts that went along with it, Harry made his way downstairs and to the family dining hall. Upon entering the dining hall he paused in surprise at seeing who was all there, but the quickly pushed the surprise away, offered a shy smile, and made his way towards his usual seat next to Draco.

Lucius Malfoy set at the head of the table, on his right sat his wife, but on his left was a man Harry had not seen since Draco's birthday. The man Severus Snape, who Harry still saw as the physical incarnation of shadows dressed as he was in black robes despite the temperature the summer could reach, sat still as a stone next to Lucius and pinned Harry with his onyx eyes the moment the boy entered the room.

Draco sat silently next to his mother and Harry briefly considered sitting next to Snape just to keep the sides of the tables even, but Draco had looked up at him with a near pleading look in his eyes. Harry quickly took the seat next to him.

"Glad you decided to join us, Mr. Potter," The man Severus said.

Harry blushed and hung his head, reverting back to his comfortable habits of silence over useless running of the mouth.

"Hello Harry," Narcissa greeted with a smile, "how are you?"

"I'm fine, Lady," Harry replied politely, Narcissa had taken it upon herself to slip Harry books about the proper manners and etiquette expected of a pureblood wizard. Harry had devoured the books in both his eagerness to learn and his eagerness to please the pureblood family that was kind enough to house him. "And yourself?"

"I'm lovely." Narcissa continued to smile. "Though the weather is a bit gloomy, I'm sure we'll all survive."

Harry smiled back at the blonde woman, then remembering other manners he'd read about he inclined his head towards the men of the table in a sign of respect. Technically he was supposed to greet the men before Narcissa, but he was sure they'd forgive him the mistake. Lucius gave a stiff nod in return, as did Severus. Draco turned to to Harry, offered a small smile, and then turned quickly away. It took all of Harry's self control not to sigh in disappointment. How was it possible to miss someone so much when they were sitting right next to you?

The food arrived and a slightly uncomfortable silence fell over the table. "So, Lucius darling," Narcissa finally said after the silence had drug on for a while, "will you and Draco be busy this afternoon, or will you allow Draco time to play with Harry?"

Lucius gave his wife a look that Harry couldn't quite read. "Draco and I are quite busy, there's still a bit for him to learn."

"And what shall Harry do in the mean time?"

"What has he been doing? He's a child, he can busy himself."

"You may have forgotten, darling, but Draco is also a child and the sole reason Harry is here is to busy him. What would you do if you suddenly lost your purpose? Harry is a smart boy, but there's only so many books for him to read and only so long he can be on his own before it has adverse affects on his health."

"Then you spend time with him. Draco has a lot to learn now that he is old enough."

"I have been spending time with him! I've spent more time with him in these past few weeks than I have with my own son!"

"What are you trying to say, Narcissa?"

"I'm saying you've seemed to have forgotten that Draco and Harry are only children. Children need time to play with other children. They need to learn how to associate with other children. If children don't have interaction with other people their age they develop bad habits. It's called socialization. Our son is a child, let him be a child."

"Are you trying to tell me how to raise my son?"

"I wouldn't dream of telling you how to raise _your_ son, but _ours _on the other hand-."

"Narcissa, Lucius, do you really think this is the place or time for this discussion?" Severus cut in. The two elder Malfoys looked away from each other and saw Draco staring down at his plate in silence while Harry watched the verbal exchange with full attention.

"Father, may I be excused?" Draco asked softly.

Lucius nodded. "Harry, you as well."

"Run along, I'll have Dobby bring you two something up to eat a little later." Narcissa added with a smile.

The two boys pushed away from the table and Draco was out the door before Harry even finished pushing his chair in. Harry rushed after Draco, but go up the stairs in time to see Draco's door swinging closed. With a sigh, Harry went to his own rooms and closed the door.

_Then practice losing farther, losing faster:  
places, and names, and where it was you meant  
to travel. None of these will bring disaster._

His bed didn't seem nearly as welcoming as in usually did and none of the books on his shelves sparked his interest. Still he grabbed a dictionary and a book of children's tales before climbing into the big bed. Outside it was still raining Grimms and Kneazles. A light breeze blew to curtains around his bed. Harry burrowed under the covers and cracked the dictionary open, searching for the definition of the word Narcissa had used: socialization, a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position. Harry closed the dictionary and turned to face the still open French doors so he could watch the storm. Before long he was fast asleep.

It was a familiar dream. One he'd been having since early childhood. He couldn't see much, but he felt warm and he heard laughter. He would have liked this dream if he didn't already know what was coming next. The laughter was gone. He heard yelling. He felt fear. He saw a flash of green light. He woke with a start.

"Harry? Harry, are you alright?"

It took a second to organize his thoughts, but Harry sighed in relief when he realized the fear he'd felt had stayed behind in his dreams. His bedroom in Malfoy Manor swam into clarity, along with a familiar face. "Are you alright, Harry?" Draco asked worriedly. "Did you have a bad dream?" Harry nodded silently. "Do you want to talk about it?" Harry shook his head. "Scoot over and let me in," Draco ordered. Climbing onto the bed, pulling back the covers, and sliding close to Harry. "It's always easier to deal with bad stuff when you don't have to do it alone." Just then a flash of lightning bathed the room in a silvery glow. "I'll sing you a song." Draco declared and quickly rose his voice in a song about the ghost of someone named Tom, his pure little boy's soprano ringing through the room casting a clear sound over the loud thunder.

The last note of the song died out and Harry had to bite his lip to keep from voicing his disappointment. "I've missed you." The words slipped from his lips before he realized it.

Draco sighed. "I've missed you, too."

"What have you been doing all day?" Curiosity had always been one of Harry vices.

"I've been learning. Father is teaching stuff that he say won't be covered when our lessons start."

"What kind of stuff?"

Draco shrugged. "All kinds of things, I suppose. There's this thing called a pensieve that wizards use to view memories in. Father has me watching a collection of his memories, or memories from associates of his. After I watch them we have a discussion where I have to figure out why the memory is so important. Then father gives me a lecture."

"What do you see in those memories?"

"I'm not allowed to talk about it." A flash of lightning once again illuminated the room. "Tell me some of your words."

Harry nodded and began reciting a poem off the top of his head, one about secrets, pale lipstick, and white roses. Once the poem was over they drifted into a silence. "Why can't I join your lessons, I want to learn, too." Harry tried to keep the desperate pleading tone from his voice, but he was sure Draco had heard.

"I asked Father why you couldn't come. He said that you're not old enough yet. He said you have to wait until you're seven, like I did."

"But I'll be seven in about a month. Can't I just start early?"

Draco shook his head. "Father said tradition dictates the reaching of a seventh birthday before such lessons begin and he will not put aside tradition, even for you."

Harry nodded his understanding and chewed his lower lip as he mulled over the information he'd just received.

Another flash of lightning and Draco's voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. "Harry, tell me a story."

Harry nodded and thought over his options. Instead of reciting one of the many stories he had read, Harry decided to try his hand a making up his own story. "Once upon a time there was two little boys who lived in this magical kingdom. One boy was a prince, the heir to the noble house of the Dragon. The other boy was poor little street urchin. But the two of them were the best of friends. One day the prince and the street urchin..." Harry began weaving the story as it appeared in his head, startled by how different it was to tell a story he was making up as he went along as opposed to a story he'd read before and already knew what was going to happen in.

As Harry spun the tale, Draco listened with undivided attention, making sounds of awe, excitement, empathy, and disappointment as the story went on. The Prince and the Street Urchin (who Harry had never named) went on tons of adventures together until one day the Prince's father found out about his friendship with the Street Urchin and banned them from ever seeing each other again. But then the Prince was kidnapped by an evil dark wizard and only the Street Urchin could save him. The Dark Wizard was going to kill the Prince, but the Street Urchin saved him just in time. They escaped and the Dark Wizard was vanquished, but afterward the Prince's father still didn't want his son associating with the Street Urchin. The Prince got angry and yelled at his Father. And his Father only laughed and smiled. Turns out the Prince's Father didn't really have a problem with him being friends with the Street Urchin, he had only wanted to Prince to learn to stand up for what he believed in and not just go along with stuff because he told him so. The Prince and the Street Urchin remained best friends forever and they all lived happily ever after.

"Wow Harry, that was the most amazing story I ever heard." Harry blushed sheepishly, Draco always said that after Harry told him a story, but this was the first time Harry had made up the story himself and he took the compliment to heart.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or  
next-to-last, of three beloved houses went.  
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

"I must agree with Draco," a voice said from the doorway. Neither of the boys had noticed when Narcissa and Lucius had entered the room. "Did you come up with it yourself, or did you read it somewhere?" Narcissa wanted to know.

"I- uh, I came up with it myself."

"It was very good," Narcissa complimented. "You have a real flare for diction choice."

Harry blushed and mumbled a thank you.

"Draco, did you understand the moral of the story?"

Draco nodded excitedly. "Yes Father, I did. Never let anyone else guide you decisions, stand up for what you believe in, and when you have a good friend that will face down the world for you hold on to them with both hands because they're worth their weight in gold."

Lucius nodded. "Very good."

"Well you two better get up." Narcissa declared. "We're Flooing to Paris for dinner and we'll be leaving in ten minutes."

Draco's mood visibly brightened as he bounced out the bed with an excited "yes ma'am" called to his mother, before turning to Harry urging him out of the bed and into the bathroom to wash his face and hands. Draco bounded into the closet and gathered Harry an appropriate set Wizards robes, all the while rambling on a mile a minute about how this was going to be great and how good the food was in Paris and how beautiful the city was.

Harry listened with rapt attention to all Draco had to say. This would be his first time leaving the Manor since he'd arrived there and he was just as excited as Draco, only he was more subtle in his showing of it. Narcissa and Lucius stood back watching the scene, the Lady with a bemused smile on her face, the Lord with a thoughtful expression in place.

After making sure Harry was ready, Draco raced to his rooms and got himself together and soon the group of them were in the parlor standing before the fireplace. The man Severus had left shortly after lunch and would not be joining them for dinner. Draco explained the workings of the Floo network to Harry to the best of his abilities with the elder Malfoys filling in the blanks. Harry watched in wide-eyed awe as Draco grabbed a handful of the powder and threw it into the fire before stating clearly their destination _Le Cafe Loup de Mer_. The flames flared green and Draco disappeared before Harry's eyes, Narcissa quickly followed on her son's heels to make sure he arrived safely. Harry went next with Lucius in tow since it was his first time using the Floo Network.

_I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,_  
_some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent._  
_I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster._

There was something to be said about Wizarding modes of transportation since Harry had now traveled by both Floo and Apparition and was not particularly fond of either. After the rather uncomfortable ride, Harry was deposited into the cafe in a flurry of ash and fell less than elegantly from the fireplace. Draco laughed, but assured him he'd fallen after his first Floo ride as well and that he's get used to it soon enough. Harry didn't complain about the other laughing at him because it had been such a long time since he'd seen Draco so happy.

After spelling the remaining bits of ash off their robes, Lucius and Narcissa led them from the empty room they'd arrived in (Draco had explained that it was the Floo room only and thus needed nothing in it but the fireplace) and into the main room of the cafe. _Le Cafe Loup de Mer_, was a simple yet elegant cafe on _Le Rue de Saint Martine_ in Wizarding Paris.

The staff eagerly greeted the Malfoys and they were seated an isolated table near the back of the small restaurant. When the waiter came to take their orders everything was spoken in rapid fire French and Harry couldn't follow any of the going-ons. Harry watched the faces of everyone who spoke trying to gather the gist of the conversation from their expressions but was still utterly lost. He was glad he'd agreed to let Draco order for him since he was unable to read the menu. He was only the least bit surprised when Draco ordered their meals in slower more hesitant French, not nearly as fluent as his parents had spoken but still better than Harry could. The foreign language was strange, but despite the fact he couldn't understand a word of it, Harry felt he could listen to the eloquent words for hours.

The food arrived not long after it was ordered and Harry was both glad and disappointed the conversation switched back to English. Little was said other than comments about the food and about how much sunnier it was here in Paris when they'd just left a raging thunderstorm back home.

Near the middle of the meal Lord Malfoy set down his cutlery and cleared his throat. "Draco, your mother and I have been talking and we've reached a consensus. From now on your private lessons with me will be limited to two days a week from the expanse of time we've been going and a half day on Fridays. Harry will be joining the lessons once he turns seven as we discussed before, but no sooner, and he will not be attending all of them. Your mother has also deemed it fitting to enroll you both into tumbling and martial arts lessons which start on Monday and will take place two days a week when you don't have lessons with me. The rest of the time is yours to do with as you please. This schedule is subject to change once your tutor returns in mid-August. Harry you will also begin seeing a tutor at that time. Are we all in an understanding?"

"Ye, sir." Harry nodded.

"Yes Father." Draco chirped with a grin so big it must have hurt his face. Harry couldn't help but smile, it had been so long since he's seen a real smile from his playmate.

_- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture  
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident  
the art of losing's not too hard to master  
though it may look like (Write it!) a disaster.__Elizabeth Bishop_


	10. Untitled

uchisays: this is just a short transition chapter since I realized that I completely forgot to mention their martial arts training in the next chapter and I really don't think it would have fit with it anyway. this chapter is just a bit of shameless fluff between child!Harry and child!Draco. There's no poem for this chapter because it's so short.

By the way, there is a two year time skip in he next chapter.

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**9. Untitled**

Time seemed to had slowed down. There was a almost palpable thickness in the air; a heavy silence pressing down on him. His blood was pumping fast and hard, rushing adrenaline throughout his body. Everything appeared clearer to him. Every little noise was louder to his ears. He could feel the sweat rolling down his skin. He could taste the anticipation in the air. He could- Harry turned quickly on his heel bringing his right leg up as he did so in a round house kick. A hand gripped his ankle and twisted, pulling him off balance and and releasing, sending him propelling him to the floor. His hands went up instinctively to stop his fall. His palms smacked hard against the floor, but the didn't stop to think about the sting it caused before he curled himself up and rolled away from his attacker.

"Very good."

Harry uncurled himself and looked up at his instructor with a smile. He and Draco had been taking self defense classes for just over three weeks and so far they had learned a few kicks and punches, but mostly they had been perfecting the art of falling. At their very first lesson the instructor had sent them both flying across the room and watched as they fell in ungraceful heaps on the floor. He had then proceeded to ridicule them on how poorly they had handled the fall, before lecturing them on the importance of knowing how to correctly fall and demonstrated proper falling techniques. The rest of the lesson was spent with the two boys being thrown around the room repeatedly until they learned how to fall.

The next lesson had been a repeat of the first, except this time they learned to important lesson of getting themselves out of reach of the attacker after falling. Draco had swore the instructor found some sick pleasure in bruising and abusing them; Harry was inclined to agree after lesson number three when the instructor decided they were too weak and set them to strength training which consisted of push-ups, crunches, jumping roping, running to build stamina, trunk lifts, a variation of tumbling, playing catch with weighted medicine balls, and lifting light weights. They also had to strap on weighted harnesses during all of this. It goes without saying that they were sore for days afterward. Narcissa had admitted that the teacher was a bit tough, but he was the best money could buy and they were stuck with him.

It wasn't until lesson number four that they began learning actual martial arts. After two hours of strength training they were dubbed ready enough to learn basic kicks, punches, and blocks. Except their muscles were so sore from the strength training they couldn't really enjoy learning how to fight. Lesson number five had seen them once again being thrown around the room, only at this point they were masters of falling and rolling out of harm's way, but of course the moment they were back on their feet they had to put the blocks they learned to use and guard against an onslaught of attacks until they could attempt their own kicks and punches.

Lesson six had been a welcome relief when, after only an hour of strength training, they were allowed to practice against each other instead of the instructor. It was easier to fight someone who wasn't more than twice your size, who had no more skill than you did, and who was just as sore and tired as you were.

In spite of everything, Harry really enjoyed these lessons and despite his constant grumbling over the physical exertion, Harry knew Draco enjoyed their lessons as well. During their free time back at the manor they practiced what they'd learned together and when it drew near the date of their next lesson, Draco was unabashedly excited to go.

Harry loved the physical exertion. It was the sore muscles that followed he hated. He loved the feeling of adrenaline pumping through his veins. He loved the feel of the fight. The movements like an intimate dance. He loved knowing that there was strength and power within him that he could harness whenever the need to protect what was most important to him arrived. The bruises and sore muscles weren't exactly fun, but the overall reward was worth it.

Now here they were at their seventh lesson and the training regime of the day was an hour and a half of strength training followed by the two of them teaming up against the instructor to see if they could take him down. So far they hadn't been able to so much as touch the man with a fist or a foot, but Harry assumed they were doing well since the instructor had just complimented him and that was a very rare occurrence indeed.

"That will be all for today. You two have improved a great deal. I think during our next lesson I can teach you more offensive maneuvers."

Harry and Draco shared a grin at this comment, the blond had been dying to learn more offensive moves and his excitement was evident in the sparkle of his eyes.

"Go on down to the stream an clean yourselves up," the instructor ordered, "Lady Malfoy should be arriving for you soon."

"Yes, teacher," the two boys said in unison, before pushing themselves up and heading toward the door.

Harry wasn't sure exactly where the dojo where their martial arts training was located. They traveled there by Port-key, another mode of wizarding transportation that Harry wasn't very fond of and, other than the small dojo, there was nothing in the area but trees and a stream at the bottom of the hill the dojo was situated on top of. Even their instructor was a nondescript character that gave no hint of where they could be located. He was a rather plain man with black hair and brown eyes, he spoke English without an accent, and he insisted on them calling him teacher so they weren't exactly sure of his name. His face was plain enough that it revealed no trace of his ethnic background. Draco insisted that they were somewhere and Asia, but Harry wasn't entirely sure and Narcissa wouldn't tell them.

The trip down the the stream was supposed to substitute them actually doing cool down stretching, like their strength training acted as their warm up. The stream was also the only source of running water in the area, so they went downstream to wash off the sweat and grime of the day's workout, then headed upstream for a drink if they needed it. The walk back up to the dojo was the end of their cool off, and Narcissa would usually be waiting up there for their return.

Harry and Draco ran the incline to the stream and collapsed next to the water. "That was fun," Draco declared, Harry knew he wasn't talking about the downhill run but the day's lesson. "Next time we will beat him."

Harry gave a nod of agreement, before splashing his face with a handful of water. Draco said nothing else as he splashed his own face with water. Harry dipped his arms as far as they could go in the crystal clear stream and watched as little fish swam away from his hands. It was a warm day and a light breeze blew ruffling Harry's hair. Looking up, Harry set his eyes on the treeline and smiled as he glimpsed the animals within. This really was a lovely place. So peaceful and so close to nature. He liked it.

"Harry, are you listening to me?" Draco's voice drew Harry back to attention.

"Sorry, I was a mile away." Harry gave a sheepish smile.

"What were you thinking about?" Draco always wanted to know the tangents Harry's thoughts drifted off to.

"Just that it's really nice here. I like it, being so close to nature and so far from everyone else. It's peaceful. The quiet. The animals. Even the air is more inviting."

Draco tilted his head to the side and looked at Harry curiously, before he let a large smile spread across his face. "If you like it here so much, when we grow up I'll buy us a house somewhere just like this and we can live there together. Just me and you away from everyone else."

Harry looked surprised at Draco's declaration. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do. You're my boy, Harry, I have to take care of you. I'll do anything to make you happy."

It took a second for Draco's words to sink in. The Malfoy had said things like this to him before, but Harry had never felt there was anything solid behind until this moment with Draco looking at him and smiling like that. A large smile spread across Harry's cherub like face and he didn't even think before launching himself at Draco and pulling the older boy into a tight hug. "Thank you, Draco."

Draco didn't seem to know how to respond to Harry's actions. Harry had never been so affectionate with him before, and he feared he's made a mistake until he felt Draco's arms wrapping around him and pulling him into a tighter hug. "You're welcome. You're a good boy, Harry." The words were spoken in a low voice and they filled Harry with such warmth he didn't know what to do.

No one had told him he was a good boy before. Back when he lived with his aunt and uncle, the "Big People" had done nothing but ridicule and chastise him. They called him names and said he couldn't do anything right. The word "boy" had been a derogatory term that implied Harry unworthy of having a proper name. At the orphanage the other children called him a freak and a monster. Whenever anything had gone wrong they blamed it on him and the Ms. Tanner believed them and told Harry how bad and horrible he was. For years his precious words had been used to make him feel as if he didn't deserve to be cared about.

Draco's words at that moment had just undone five years worth of damage to Harry's self-esteem.

"Come on, Harry," Draco said releasing Harry from the hug, "Mother is most likely waiting for us."

Harry nodded and released Draco, before going upstream for a quick drink, and then trailing his playmate back up the hill to the dojo.


	11. Innocence Lost

UchiSays: I finally got the chapter 11 done, so I'm finally able to post chapter 10 (my chapter numbering differs from how fanfic numbers them b/c I started with chapter zero). This was by far the hardest chapter for me to write because I don't know Lucius character very well and I had no idea how he would respond to the situation in this chapter. I hope I did him justice.

UchiReminds: A quick reminder, there had been a two year time skip between this and the last chapter and there will be another time skip in the next chapter.

UchiBegs: I need two things, I need all readers of thist story to go to my profile page and do my poll, and I need REVIEWS. Thank You.

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**10. Innocence Lost**

_We've entered a new point in time  
where poetry does not have to rhyme  
where the moon is not cheese  
where the stars are only gas  
where laughter means you're broken_

The assignment was simple: pick a grammar rule that you deem is important but is usually forgotten by the great majority of society, write an explanation and example, as well as a pneumatic device to help remember the rule.

Harry picked up his quill and wrote across the top of his parchment "Gender Agreement between Subject and Adjective".

He dipped his quill again and began to write: _I've always wondered about the spelling of certain words. It seems to be acceptable to spell some words with or without the letter 'e' at the end. It wasn't until I began studying foreign languages did_ _I discover the proper rules associated with the spelling with or without the extra 'e' and since then I've noticed the failure to agree subject and adjectives, gender-wise, in a large variety of literature. _

_Ex: He is blond. She is blonde. He is brunet. She is brunette. Girls are extra special, they get an extra 'e'. _

"Harry, are you done yet?" Draco called from the sitting room.

"One second," Harry yelled back through the closed door. He quickly re-read what he had just written and gave a nod of approval. His penmanship had improved significantly since he had begun his lessons two years ago. The words stretched across the parchment in a straight line of neat and slightly loopy letters. His writing was a bit larger than what his tutor liked, but that was because he'd had a hard time seeing the smaller writing for the best part of a year before it was realized he needed a stronger prescription on his glasses. It had also taken him a while to adjust from using lined paper to blank parchment and a lot of his earlier works had a distinct slant to them. It had taken two months of practice to correct that. Now his penmanship was on par with Draco's, who had grown up with parchment and quills.

Harry and Draco didn't see the same tutor, but they essentially had the same lessons: grammar, reading, math, arts, social studies, multiple foreign languages, and Wizarding traditions. They also learned pureblood etiquette from Narcissa and various other things from private lessons with Lucius. Harry's strengths were reading and grammar, but he lagged behind in math and social studies. Draco was the exact opposite, with exceptional skill in math and social studies, but no interest in reading and grammar. It had been discovered early in his lessons that Harry had a photographic memory. A gift that lots of kids were born with but lost as they grew due to not properly cultivating it. The result had been a month of rigorous training until he no longer risked losing the talent. It came in handy during his more difficult lessons that was essentially all memorization. But it didn't really help in math and social studies the way one would think it would because Harry really had no interest in the subjects and went at them halfhearted.

"Harry, hurry up! Father is waiting." Harry didn't answer as he pushed the parchment away to let it dry, replaced the lid on his ink pot, and put away the rest of his supplies.

Slowly he stood up and made his way over to the door. "I'm ready," he said with a smile as he opened the door just as Draco had made to call him again.

"Took you long enough." Draco huffed, before leading the way out of the sitting room and towards that stairs. "I'll never understand how you enjoy lessons and assignments so much. No kid in their right mind enjoys learning as much as you do. But I guess that's part of your charm."

_where tears mean you're human  
where music is for the dying  
where news is for lying  
where nothing is as it should be  
where there is only you but no me:  
where has our innocence gone?_

Not a week after his seventh birthday, Harry had joined Draco's lessons with Lucius. The topic of their initial meeting had been buried under the discussions of the numerous meetings following that date, but he was sure the first topic had to something to do with pureblood politics. Unlike Draco, Harry only attended lessons with the Malfoy patriarch once a week and the short meeting on Fridays. Draco still followed the same schedule laid out for him during that forgotten dinner in Paris two years ago only keeping different hours due to lessons with his tutor. Essentially, Draco met for two hours with his father two days a week and one hour on Friday; Harry joined one of the two hour lessons and the Friday lessons, resulting in Draco learning nearly twice as much as Harry.

Harry spent the days where Draco met alone with his father with Narcissa learning proper pureblood etiquette such as posture, dancing, music, manners, how to make small talk (which Harry really disliked), and how to behave at social events. Draco had grown up with these things being instilled into him from the earliest of ages, but Harry hadn't and thus needed to learn them now. Harry rather enjoyed these lessons, especially the music since he could now play three instruments and was a fair hand at writing songs.

His passion for words had been encouraged since his stay with the Malfoys. For his seventh birthday, an event that would always be a cherished memory for him since it was the first time he'd ever had a birthday party, he had received a little blue book much like his mother's red one, and he filled it with new words he had learned, stories he had written, poems (both original and duplicates of ones he'd read), and the songs he'd written. After filling the first book in a very short amount of time, Narcissa had bought him a second one, and continued buying him more as need be; he was currently half way through filling his sixth one.

His foreign language study gave him a plethora of new words to use. Like the rest of the Malfoys the first language he'd began to study had been French, but that had branched into Latin (the root of most languages and the spells he would one day learn), a little Spanish, Japanese, basic Italian (which Blaise helped with whenever he was over), and he and Draco had taught themselves American Sign Language in order to have secret conversations; they had also invented their own written language called Tipher so they could pass notes, other than them only Blaise could understand Tipher though he couldn't follow ASL.

In his free time, Harry had studied the pureblood lines of both the Malfoys and the Potters, an endeavor Lucius had very much approved of. It had come as a surprise to him that the two lines had never intermarried, he'd been disappointed because he had hoped that he and Draco were related in some kind of way like distant cousins two times removed or something.

"There you two are," Narcissa greeted once they reached the bottom of the steps, their lessons took place in Lucius' office which was on the ground floor of the manor. "Are you both ready?"

"Yes, Mother." Draco smiled.

"And you, Harry?"

"Yes, Ma-cissa." After being with the Malfoys for the better part of a year and spending a lot of one on one time with Narcissa, it had been insisted that Harry called her "mother", but Harry had felt it would be a betrayal to Lily the mother of his blood and the mother of his dreams, so instead they had reached a consensus that Harry would call her Mother Narcissa. Eventually that had been shortened to just Ma-cissa. Lucius had given Harry permission to call him by his first name, but Harry insisted on calling him Lord Malfoy as a sign of respect towards his benefactor. As of late he's been calling him Lord Lucius or Mr. Malfoy.

"Well hurry along, Lucius is waiting in his office. I'll see you all at dinnertime." The two nine year olds nodded and headed towards the designated room.

_We've enter a new place in life  
where the darkness is light  
where beauty is sin  
where fear is believing  
where seeing is deceiving_

Lucius was sitting behind his large oak desk when the boys arrived, looking over documents that Harry assumed pertained to the Malfoy's many investments. He didn't say anything as Harry and Draco entered and took their usual seats in the two black leather chairs across from the desk, instead he continued reading the parchment in front of him, before dipping his quill, making a few annotations, and signing his name with a flourish. Putting down his quill, Lucius looked up at the boys and immediately began his lesson without even greeting them first.

"We left off last time Harry was here talking about Muggles, Muggle-borns, and blood status. We will be continuing that discussion today. I believe last time we discussed why we must keep our world separate from that of the Muggles, I told you both of the safety risk involved with revealing ourselves and referenced such points as the Salem Witch Trails, I then ventured to the effects Muggles have on our culture and used endangered traditions as an example, I concluded with the point that Muggle-borns should not be allowed education in our ways. Today we will- yes Harry?" Lucius cut himself off upon seeing Harry's hand in the air. "Do you have a question?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said letting only a hint of his hesitancy to drift into his voice. He knew what he would say next would have the potential to greatly anger the Malfoy family head, but he thought it needed to be said, he had even gone so far as studying different aspects of history, which he hated because it was a sub-category of social studies, to back up what he had to say. "After our last lesson I did some research on the topics discussed and I, er, spotted a flaw in your reasoning."

"A flaw in my reasoning?" The tone Lucius used said he doubted anything Harry had to say, but would listen anyway because the nine year old usually had brought up decent arguments and logic that the Malfoy patriarch could twist to his own advantage.

"Well, sir, you made valid points, I admit that much, but you left out the fear factor."

"The fear factor?" Lucius raised one eyebrow in inquiry.

"Well, sir, it is human nature to fear what they do not understand, and when faced with fear it is also human nature to try to make it go away, usually by distancing themselves from or destroying whatever or whoever brought about the fear. That is the fear factor."

_where rainbows hold no pot of gold  
where the streets are desecrated  
where windows are broken  
where no doors are open  
where we are truly alone:  
where has our innocence gone?_

Harry swallowed the lump threatening to close his throat and pushed on. "The fear factor has been the second leading cause of wars and genocide throughout history, the first leading cause being-" Harry paused searching for the word he wanted, lethologica was always an issue when you had an overly large vocabulary, but what was the word... not supremacy, but "intolerance, prejudice, and discrimination. Which, when you look beneath the surface, can be proven to also stem from fear. Leaving the fear factor as _the_ leading cause of war and violence in the world.

"Since you used the example of the Salem Witch Trails, I also looked into American history during my research. That is where I stumbled upon the Muggle Civil Rights Movement. It seems in America, mostly the south, the majority of the Caucasian population thought themselves better than the Negro population and discriminated against solely because of the color of their skin. That would be like us taking away Blaise's rights just because he has a darker skin color than us." He added the last part for Draco's benefit.

Harry continued; "These white supremacy ideas led to a number of hate crimes and the unjustified deaths of a large amount of people until the American government passed laws stating equal rights for all minorities, including the unalienable rights their government was founded on: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. After furthering my research, I also found out that during the second Muggle World War, a crazed dictator in Germany led a genocide that could have wiped out an entire race of people.

"I found in curious how closely our Magic Supremacy beliefs resembled the Race Supremacy beliefs of the Muggles. I found it surprising that we had not led a genocide against the Muggles and history would predict us to, but then I was directed to look into the rise of the Dark Lord Voldemort, though most things I read referred to him as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or You-Know-Who." Harry didn't noticed either of the Malfoys' reaction to him saying the name. "I wondered why people could so effortlessly try to destroy one another and I was once again brought back to the fear factor.

"Infer in that the Crimes committed against us by the Muggles was due to their fear of a race/society of people who completely stood outside their basic beliefs and held, what to them would seem, incomprehensible power. As we grew in power, they grew in fear until finally they acted on human's most basic instinct of destroying the source of their fear. Now infer it that after the crimes against us, we separated ourselves from the Muggles out of the necessity for protection, but we continued to live with the constant fear that they would learn of us and attempt to destroy us again. Now, while our fear persisted and has been continually passed down through the generations of pure-bloods born to our world, the Muggles' fear of us has all but completely vanished, for they think us beings of myths and children's stories. And while such historical references as the Salem Witch Trails serves as proof of Muggle intolerance of us, they see it as a foolish act of paranoia, regrettable but foolish nonetheless.

"There is always the fear that the Muggles will discover and re-awaken their old fear of us, but it is my belief that such a thing is avoidable if we just help them understand more about us."

"Are you suggesting we integrate Muggles into our society and put ourselves risk just make them _understand_ us?"

Harry shook his head. "No, not at all, sir. I am simply stating that perhaps, at the very least, the allowing of Muggle-borns into our society is more beneficial than hazardous. If we allow them in, they will gain more knowledge and understanding of our way of life and spread what they learned giving others reasons not to fear us. And at the same time, we will gain knowledge of how they have changed throughout time and realize that maybe we no longer need to fear them."

"You left out the part where they refuse to let go of their beliefs and instead set about destroying our traditions and way of life."

"If they are taught about traditions and such earlier than when they get their Hogwarts' letters, then they would not have to relinquish their way of life without transition. Take myself for example, if you had not gotten me from the orphanage, I would have received my Hogwarts' letter in a few years' time and would have entered the Wizarding World as clueless as a Muggle-born despite my actual blood status."

"Yes, let's take you as example. You were supposed to be raised by Muggle relatives, but instead you were placed in an orphanage where you were outcast and bullied because of your magic."

"Because no one _understood_ my magic. _I_ didn't even understand my magic. You must understand that everything we consider normal in the Wizarding World is considered fiction by Muggles. Magic, dragons, and unicorns are fantasy. Vampires, werewolves, and things that go bump in the night are just tales told to scare little children. Even witches and wizards are not believed to exist. So my accidental magic frightened them because it couldn't be explained by the two ideas their society is founded on, science and religion."

"Be that as it may, had you been left in their world the Muggles would have destroyed you."

"Only because they feared me. It is not healthy for someone to live in a constant state of fear, trust me because I did for four years."

"And yet you continue to defend the very people that put you in that fear."

"Because I am sympathetic to them. Fear makes you do crazy things. It grabs a hold of you and robs the very air from your lungs. It seeps into every pore of your body and controls your every thoughts. Adrenaline only flows for so long. Eventually 'fight or flight' becomes 'submit or destroy', either way it ends your suffering. My magic protected me all these years, but Muggles don't have that advantage. All they have is basic instinct that puts self-preservation above all else."

"Would it not be self-preservation to block them out and assure they won't destroy us?"

"How long do you believe that tactic will last?"

Lucius and Harry silently stared at each other until someone cleared their throat. "Lucius, I believe this is where you call an impasse, concede the boy has a point, and release this lesson so that the boys can join me for their evening potions' lesson." Harry hadn't even noticed when Severus had entered the the office, so caught up he was in his and Lucius' debate. Apparently Lucius hadn't noticed the man's arrival either.

"Severus, I wasn't expecting you until half four."

"It is a quarter after five, Lucius. Narcissa will be expecting us for dinner in less than an hour, so I would be must oblige to take the boys to the potions' lab now."

"Right. You boys are dismissed."

"Thank you, Father." Draco stood and made towards the door, Harry close on his heels.

"Harry," Lucius called before the boy could escape the office, "would you mind telling me by what means you were able obtain the materials to conduct your research?"

"When Mother Narcissa takes us shopping in Paris there is this bookstore I like to visit. It has books on any topic you could think of from all around the world, both Muggle and Magic. I found some books there and purchased them with my allowance, and when I mentioned my research to my tutor he recommended I look into the rise of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name, who I later discovered to be the Dark Lord Voldemort, though my tutor doesn't approve of me calling him by name. Strange really, fear of the name only leads to fear of the person himself."

"What did you think of how the Dark Lord was defeated?"

"That was the strangest part of my research. Though I guess it was good my parents didn't die for no reason or in a car accident like my relatives told me. I really don't think myself to be much of a hero. People find the strangest things to believe in they need something to believe in. I talked to Draco about it and he does not care. He admitted initially my status as 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' played a role in how he treated me, but it doesn't matter to him anymore."

"Hmm," Lucius hummed and gave a gesture of dismissal.

_We've started a new path  
where words are not spoken  
where hands are not holding on  
where lies lead to "good-byes"  
where dreams paint the world silver and gold_

Harry stepped into the hall where Draco was waiting for him. Once the door closed behind him, Draco snapped his fingers three times to direct Harry's attention to his hands, their sign that meant he was about to use Sign Language. Lucius didn't approve of their using ASL, calling the language senseless fidgeting, Narcissa thought it was cute, Harry and Draco had argued the usefulness of the language for those with hearing problems unremedied by magic. Lucius had finally conceded the point and allowed them their fun, though the boys agreed they should limit the use of ASL to outside Lord Malfoy's presence.

'Wow, Harry,' Draco signed as he led the way to the Potions' Lab where their next lesson was to take place,'Father was not happy.'

'Do you think he is angry with me?'

'No. He does not like people challenging him,' at this point they had reached the Lab,'but even Uncle Sev admits you had a point.'

'What if he thinks I was being disrespectful?'

'He won't. He likes you, Harry. Lessons are always more fun when you are there. Besides, if he's angry I'll protect you. You are my boy.'

"Thank you, Draco.'

"If you two would be so kind as to speak English, we could get this lesson started." Severus wasn't very fond of their using ASL either, but his approach was more of cynical sarcasm than blatant dislike.

"Sorry, Uncle Sev." Draco's voice held no real apology.

"Sorry, Sev'rus." Harry had been granted permission to address Severus by his given name some time ago, but for some reason Harry had found himself unable to pronounce every syllable of the name and instead called the man Sev'rus. He had eventually trained himself in pronouncing the second syllable, but by that time he was already in the habit of calling the Potion's Master Sev'rus, and thus the name had stuck.

Harry and Severus had built something resembling a friendship a while back when Severus had visited the Manor library in search of a book, but had instead found Harry sitting at a table with the book he'd been looking for, a dictionary of magical terms, and his mother's red book. They had struck up a conversation and Snape had informed Harry that Lily's red book had actually been a gift from the Potion's master on the witch's fourteenth birthday. This ventured into them discussing a variety of other things and they had found some common ground.

Sev'rus had began officially teaching Harry and Draco potions earlier that year when Harry had shown interest in the subject and Draco had shown a natural skill at it. This had eventually branched into more in-depth study of magical theory than what they were already learning from their tutors; they had begun basic magic theory at age seven when Draco had talked Harry into stealing Narcissa's wand and they accidentally destroyed a great deal of the garden maze.

Harry devoured his magic theory lessons with vigor and had even started memorizing spells and charm incantations, an easy feat with his photographic memory; he was eagerly awaiting the time when he'd receive his Hogwarts' letter so he could begin practical lessons as well.

As it was, despite all his studying, Harry was crud at potions.

He could easily remember ingredients, their uses, and how they reacted with other ingredients, but when it came to the actual brewing he failed. Draco, on the other hand, was brilliant at brewing but had to study harder at the memorization part. Severus had decided that because they balanced each other's faults so well it would be good for them to work together, but argued that both needed to work harder for when the time came that they did not have each other to rely on.

His poor attempts at potions made him fear poor attempts at all the other magic he would one day learn. Knowing theory and memorizing incantations was one thing, but having the power and skill to back it up during practical exercises was a completely different cup of tea.

Draco and Narcissa had both assured him that his lack of skills at potions was nothing to judge his magic ability on. People had different skills and potions just wasn't one of his, but his raw magic and the skill he showed at controlling it already hinted he would be a strong wizard.

"Since we are short on time today instead of having the two of you brew the potion I had planned, we are going to review the properties and uses of the potion we learned last week." Harry set next to Draco and prepared himself for an easy lesson of simple question answering.

_where children always do as they're told  
where our songs have meaning  
where our smiles mean joy  
where no one is anyone's toy  
where I belong to me and you to yourself:  
where our innocence is all we have left._

_~R.R. Cannon_

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_UchiSays: Please review and go do my poll, it directly effects the direction this story will take once they reach Hogwarts. Thank You._  
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	12. Nothing Green Can Stay

UchiSays: New Chapter! Yay! So there is another time skip between this chapter and the last, putting us about two weeks before Harry's eleventh birthday. Which means it's almost Hogwarts time! If you haven't seen it yet, I have closed the poll and the end results was 22 fr Slytherin b/c it works, 12 for Gryffindr b/c it's who Harry is, and 11 for Ravenclaw b/c he's so intelligent. But just because Slytherin won in the polls does not mean Harry is a going to be a Slytherin, the final decision is up the the Electoral Collage, i.e. me and my muse. So I'm not telling you what house I've decided on yet, the poll was really jsut to get an idea of what the readers want. Anyway: Dumbledore makes an appearence in this chapter. Just so you all know: I HATE Albus Dumbledore. He's a muliptive old coot who get's his jollies off by playing puppet-master to a little boy's life. I just want to KILL him... that should be enough pf a hint to the role he'll be playing in this story. I'll be putting a new poll up soon, could you all please go vote on it.

~Itami

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**11. Nothing Green Can Stay**

_Nature's first green is gold,  
Her hardest hue to hold._

The late June air was warm against his skin as he gripped tight onto his broom and steered around the corners of the garden maze. A head of him a glimpse of glittering white blond hair told him Draco had already taken the next turn. Behind him he knew Blaise was struggling to keep up without crashing into walls or getting lost among the verdant terrain. If either of the elder Malfoys discovered them flying their brooms through the maze, something that had always been forbidden for them to do, they would most likely be in a great deal of trouble. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was proving to Draco he wasn't afraid of bending the rules.

It had been Draco's idea to test their reflexes, skills on a broom, and daring by seeing how fast they could fly and still safely maneuver through the maze. Harry had agreed because he liked the idea of the challenge, and Blaise had come along because he had nothing better to do; the black boy was staying at Malfoy Manor for the next week while his mother was away on business and his Uncle Damien was visiting a friend in the states. Blaise's father had died during the war against Voldemort when Blaise was only a baby and since then his family consisted only of his mother and uncle, his uncle was his father's baby brother. The Zabini said he did had more family in Italy, but he didn't really care to spend time with them.

So here they were, two eleven year olds and one ten year old on broomsticks trying to maneuver through the large garden maze without crashing into the hedge walls and hopefully avoiding getting caught breaking the rules.

Harry leaned forward on his broom, urging it faster as he past by multiple turn offs until at the last minute he quickly swerved to the left, followed immediately by another quick left so that he was zooming back in the direction he'd come, only on the other side of the hedge wall. The thing about the Malfoy's garden maze is it's constantly changing. While the hedges stayed firmly rooted in the ground, the ground itself shifted forming a completely different maze pattern than before. There was a trick to always knowing what path to take, and it had taken Harry all of a year to learn it, which was finny because the trick was fairly simple. The answer to the maze lied in Lucius' prized albino peacocks.

The first few times Harry had entered the maze, all those years ago, he hadn't even been aware of the peacocks running around. He knew there were peacocks in the manor, for he had seen a few of them when he looked out his bedroom window, but he had never seen them in the maze. After he became of aware that the birds did in fact enter the maze, he didn't know of the help they could be to him. Then one day, on a whim he had decided to follow one of the peacock through the maze. Not only did the bird lead him to the green house at the center of the structure, but he kept following it and it led him through the other side on the maze he generally didn't venture through and out to the second entrance of the maze at the lake.

After this initial success, Harry had formed and repeatedly tested a hypothesis. The end results were indisputable, the peacocks always knew the route through the maze, no matter how often it shifted. But there wasn't always a peacock around for him to follow, so he learned to search for signs of peacock passing until he had traversing the maze down to an art. Narcissa had applauded him when he shared his discovery with her and had admitted that was exactly what he had been supposed to learn from the maze. Apparently Lucius had set the maze to act the way it did in order to train its repeat visitors to search for even the most miniscule detail. The Lord Malfoy believed having an eye for detail could save one's life. Draco had been allowed to get lost in the maze multiple times when he was younger until he learned this lesson.

At this moment, Harry was becoming increasingly frustrated with searching for signs of peacock's passing as he flew through the maze at a speed that melted everything around him into a pleasant blur. But he wouldn't slow down. Part of this adventure was about seeing how fast he could successfully navigate the maze, and so far he was doing fairly well though he had made a few wrong turns when he'd mistake the white blur of a flower growing on a hedge for the same colored blur of a dropped feather.

Harry made a sharp right turn and pressed forward, he knew Blaise was tailing him and hoped the black boy could keep up with his increasing speed. Up ahead he caught sight of Draco again. The blond had gotten a head start into the labyrinth and the fact that Harry was catching up with him meant that Harry was flying faster than the Malfoy. Not surprising since even Draco admitted to Harry having greater skill on a broom than he.

Draco took another right turn and Harry followed hot on his heels with Blaise pulling up the rear. "We did it!" Draco cheered pulling his broom to a stop and dismounting; they had finally made it to the greenhouse in the center of the hedge maze. Harry dismounted as well and smiled at his playmate's obvious joy. Draco threw his arms around Harry and jumped up and down in his cheer. Blaise chuckled in amusement as he dismounted his own broom. It was obvious to Harry that Draco's joy didn't stem from the fact that they had successful traversed the maze, but from the fact they had not only done what had been strictly forbidden for them as children, but they had done it well.

Eventually Draco's overzealous hype calmed down and the three of them headed into the greenhouse. They were walking through the rows of flowers when Harry spotted a familiar plant not usually present in the Malfoy Gardens, there were multiple gardens on the Malfoy property the green house and the maze were just a favorite for the children. "Dandelions," Harry called excitedly, running over and picking one of the puffy white plants.

"The house elves must be slacking," Draco commented, "they're suppose to remove all the weeds from in here."

"Dandelions aren't weeds; they're wishes." Draco and Blaise both looked confused at Harry's comment, so Harry explained. "It's a Muggle thing. You close you eyes and make a wish and if you can blow all the seeds from the dandelions in one blow your wish will come true. Muggle children will drop anything for the chance to make a wish on one, they're important childhood memories."

"I think I've heard about that somewhere," Blaise mused.

Harry only smiled, closed his eyes, and blew as hard as he could on the dandelion puffs. He opened his eyes and pouted when he realized he hadn't managed to blow them all. Turning back to the plot where he had picked it, Harry realized there was only one dandelion left.

"How about we all wish on this one," Draco offered, picking the remaining plant. "We can make separate wishes, but we can blow together."

"That's a great idea!" Harry exclaimed. Blaise came over to where the two of them were standing. Harry held the flower as Draco leaned in from his left side and Blaise from his right. "Ready?" Harry asked, Draco and Blaise both nodded and they all closed their eyes to make their wishes. _I wish for us to always be together like this. _No one said when, but they all started blowing at the same time and when Harry opened his eyes, all the dandelion seeds were floating away. The three boys looked at each other and smiled, but before any of them could speak the moment was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the house elf, Dobby.

"Dobby has been sent to tell the young masters they are to return to the house right away. Dobby was told to say it is very important. Dobby is to take you all back to the house now."

_Her early leaf's a flower,  
But only so an hour._

The boys had barely had time to grab their brooms before Dobby popped them out of the maze and landed them on the patio where Narcissa was waiting, a slightly anxious look on her face. Seeing the boys arrival with their brooms in tow, the anxious look quickly switched to one of anger.  
"Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Blaise Zabini I know for a fact you three did not just come out that maze with your brooms." Their guilty looks said enough and Harry was suddenly regretting going along with Draco's idea despite the fact that none of them had been hurt. "I specifically told you all to never go in that maze on brooms," Narcissa chastised. "What if-"

"Narcissa, I understand you're upset the boys went against your wishes, but now is not the time for this; Dumbledore could be here any second now."

Narcissa turned to Lucius, her former look of anxiousness and concern returning to her face; she mumbled something none of them heard, before turning and heading back into the house. If the expression on her face hadn't been enough to alert Harry something wasn't right, her actions were. Narcissa had taught Harry that mumbling was rude and was a sign of lack of culture and proper breeding. For the Lady Malfoy to do something she considered so beneath her, something big must have been going on. And apparently Harry wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Father, what is going on?" Draco asked.

Lucius turned to his son, before gesturing for the boys to follow him inside. Harry was only a little surprised to see Severus there when they reached the sitting room, but before he had time to greet the potions master, Lucius spoke to them in a soft but urgent tone that demanded attention. "There is little time for me to explain, but I need the three of you to go upstairs to Harry's rooms and direct the house elves to pack some of his things. Headmaster Dumbledore will be arriving at any moment to take Harry away."

Harry's entire world seemed to freeze as his brain tried and failed to process what had just been said. What did Lucius mean 'take him away'? Did the Malfoys not want him anymore? Had he somehow disappointed them? Or was he just going away for a little while like when the spent weekends in France? If so, then why wasn't Draco coming with him? Would he be coming back? Over the years, Harry had let go of his fear to the Malfoys every getting rid of him. He and Draco had become great friends. Narcissa treated him like a second son. Even Lucius liked having him around. So why was someone coming to take him away?

"Take him away?" Draco asked voicing Harry's thoughts, something the blond had been doing a lot in recent years. "What do you mean 'take him away'? Harry is my boy; he's not going anywhere."

That statement brought up memories to two winters ago when Draco had contacted a bad case of the flu and Narcissa had wanted to send Harry to stay with Blaise until the blond was over it, so Harry wouldn't fall ill as well. Draco had outright refused to let him go. He had said Harry was his boy and would not be going anywhere without him. A few days later this had led to one of the only fights the two boys had ever had. Draco had gotten angry when Narcissa had sent Harry away against his wishes and Harry had been telling Draco about the fun he'd had with Blaise. Draco insisted that Harry belonged to him and thus should not be allowed to have fun with anyone else. Harry had argued that he needed friends outside of Draco. To which Draco had said Harry didn't need anyone else but him. They had stopped talking to each other for three days afterward until one day they had started speaking again without ever properly making up.

Obsequious was the word to describe Harry when it came to Draco: overly submissive and eager to please. And possessive was the word for Draco. At this moment, Harry was relying on Draco's possessiveness to keep him from being sent away.

"Draco, I do not have the time to argue with you on this. This is not my decision, nor do I approve of it. But for the moment matters are out of my hands. Severus, why don't you go upstairs with the boys and explain what is going on while I wait for our _esteemed_ guest."

A look past between the two men, before Severus gave a sharp nod and strode out the room, his robes billowing behind him. Harry, Draco, and Blaise were hesitant, but they followed. The trip upstairs was silent, as each boy lost themselves in mental speculation as to why Harry was being taken away. Severus paused outside Harry's rooms and waited for the three children to catch up. Harry opened the door and the moment they were in the sitting room, Draco pounced on his godfather, verbally not physically.

"Uncle Sev, I demand to know what is going on. Why is the Headmaster coming to take Harry away?" Severus ignored the boy's question in took a seat in one of the arm chairs by the unlit fireplace. "Uncle Sev!" Draco demanded.

"Be quiet, boy," Severus ordered. "One cannot gather their thoughts enough to speak with your constant chattering." Draco blushed at this, his godfather never spoke to him like that. When he realized Draco would listen and not speak, Severus sighed and ran a hand across his face. "I told Lucius I would not be involved in this." Though he spoke loud enough for them to hear, it was obvious those words were not addressed towards the three boys. Severus sighed again and turned to face Harry. "You've read about the reign of the Dark Lord and I'm sure you other two have learned about him as well. You all should know the role Harry played in bringing about his downfall." Harry mentally noted that Snape used the word 'downfall' and not 'death' or 'demise', but the questions that brought up would have to wait to another time.

"After that fated Halloween, Harry was taken by Headmaster Dumbledore to live with relatives in the Muggle world, again I'm sure you all know that. What you do not know was that under no circumstances whatsoever was Harry to return to the Wizarding World before receiving his Hogwarts' letter. Dumbledore feared that he would fall into the hands of _the wrong sort_. Unfortunately Lucius is a prime example of what the Headmaster would consider the wrong sort. I don't know why it took so long for him to learn of Potter's presence in this household, but he knows now and is on his way to remove Harry from Lucius' custody."

"But why?" Harry asked softly. "Mr. Malfoy has never been anything but nice to me. He rescued me from that horrid orphanage I was in. Would not the Headmaster allow me to stay if he knew how well I've been treated here?"

"Unfortunately, Dumbledore can be very stubborn when he believes he acting to the _Greater Good_. Draco, do as your father ordered and direct the elves as to what to pack."

Draco looked as if he wanted to argue, but knew things were out of his hands. "Dobby!" he snapped, the house elf popped to existence next to the boy at the sharp call.

"How can Dobby serve the young master?"

"Go to Harry's closet and pack..." he listed an assortment of Harry's clothing and a variety of other essentials for the elf to pack in the trunk Harry usually carried when they were going on trips. "Also bring his satchel so he can choose what books to take with him. Don't forget to pack his the two books under his pillow as well." Those would be his mother's red book and the blue book he was currently working on. "If you need anything else you can owl me and I'll send them. If you do not return by the time we depart for Hogwarts, I'll make sure to bring the rest of the things you'll miss."

Harry nodded silently, before snapping his fingers twice to draw Draco's attention to his hands. Through the years, American Sign Language had remained their favored way of having secret discussions. 'I don't want to go,' he signed.

'I don't want you to go,' Draco signed back, 'It's out of our hands.'

Blaise snapped his fingers twice bringing their attention the him, he had eventually decided to learn ASL as well. 'Maybe we can make him let him stay.'

'Maybe.'

_The leaf subsides to leaf.  
So Eden sank to grief,_

Dobby had finished packing Harry's trunk just as Harry finished deciding the books to pack in this satchel. Severus led the way back down to the ground floor with Draco and Blaise following him and Harry bringing up the rear. As they neared the sitting room, Harry heard and unfamiliar voice drifting towards him. "...removed him from the custody of his relatives." Harry could only assume it was Headmaster Dumbledore speaking.

"In my defense I did not remove the boy from the custody of his relatives," Lucius said in a tone that oozed boredom. "They had left him in a Muggle orphanage that was entirely unsuited for caring for a young wizard, I was doing the boy a favor by removing him from that horrid place. Though from what I've heard, his relatives' house wasn't much better."

Dumbledore made to speak again, but at that moment Severus and the boys entered the room and the man closed his mouth. Harry's first thought of Dumbledore was 'father Christmas'. His long white beard and half-moon glasses brought to mind something one would see on a holiday greeting card. His second thought was that he did not like the man despite his 'jolly' appearance. This was the man determined to remove him from the only place Harry had ever called home; he had right to dislike the man.

Twinkling blue eyes set on Harry and a disarming smile appeared on the elderly man's face. "Harry, my boy, how you have grown." Harry didn't say anything and Draco and Blaise stepped in front of him like a shield. "No need to fear me, my boy," Dumbledore said. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I am here to take you somewhere that I'm sure you'll love-"

"Harry is not your boy, he's mine, and he doesn't want to go," Draco cut the man off.

Dumbledore glanced at the young Malfoy, his smile still in place. "I'm sure that is Harry's decision to make, Mr. Malfoy."

"Harry did make this decision," Blaise said. "He told us upstairs."

Dumbledore looked curiously at Blaise, before his smile returned full force. "You must be young Mr. Blaise Zabini, Camilla's boy, correct?" Blaise nodded. "Well, Mr. Zabini, can Harry not speak for himself?"

"He doesn't like talking," Draco answered in his friend's stead. "He says he's whether not waste words in meaningless chatter."

"Is that so?" Draco and Blaise nodded while Harry peered over their shoulders at the headmaster.

"It is true that Harry doesn't like speaking," Narcissa strode into the room, her face showing a cool mask instead of the the anxiousness from before, "but I've taught him better manners than that. Have I not, Harry?"

"Yes, Mother Narcissa, my apologies." Harry knew better than to behave anything less than the epitome of propriety in Narcissa's presence.

"Do not apologize to me." The Lady Malfoy raised one eyebrow tell Harry without words just what was expected of him.

With a light blush on his face, Harry stepped out from behind the shield that was Draco and Blaise, and inclined his head respectable towards Dumbledore. "Forgive me for my behavior, Headmaster, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir."

The look that flashed across Dumbledore's face was too quick for Harry to properly read, but the headmaster bowed his head towards Harry in turn and said, "Likewise, my boy." He turned back to the rest of the room and continued speaking, "Now if we are done here, I will be taking Harry and going now."

"Headmaster, if you will allow me to speak in favor of allowing Harry to remain here-"

"Ah, Severus, I was waiting for you to speak-up. How long have you known of this arrangement, and why did you not bring it to my attention."

Severus looked displeased at being cut off, but he showed the proper respect to his superior. "I have known for four years now. I told Lucius in the beginning that I would take no part of this, that I would neither tell you nor lie to you about it, and I assumed you would find out sooner or later since you assured us you took regular visits to Harry's Muggle family to check on him."

Dumbledore looked shocked at the number of years that Severus said had passed since Harry had begun his stay with the Malfoys, but he hid the surprise quickly. "Yes, well my scheduled visits never seemed to coincide with when the family was home."

Harry couldn't tell whether or not any of the adults believed this, but Severus continued speaking anyway. "As I said, I've watched Harry grow in the household for four years and I can attest to the fact that the boy does well here. He's become quite close to Draco and Narcissa in particular, but I'm sure I won't be assuming too much when I say even Lucius considers the child to be family."

"Be that as it may, there are better environments for Harry to grow up in."

"For the love of Salazar, Albus, if you're worried about the influence living with a dark wizard family would have on the child, it's a bit late for that now. He's been here for four years. If they wanted to corrupt him, it would have been done by now. I believe this to better home for him than the gaggle of red heads you're taking him to."

"Your beliefs aside, Harry does not belong here. We will be leaving now."

Harry couldn't find the words he needed to say to speak in his own defense. He did belong here. This was his home, his family. He belonged here with them.

"Come along now, Harry."

Harry looked longingly at Draco as Dobby appeared with his things. The blond looked rather crestfallen at the idea of his playmate's departure. Harry snapped his fingers twice. 'I'm sorry, Draco.'

'Not, your fault.'

'I should say something.'

'What could you say?'

'I don't know. I don't want to go.'

'I don't want you to go.' Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him into a tight hug. "Good-bye, Harry."

"Not good-bye. That means you'll never see me again. It's 'see you later'."

Draco smiled. "See you later, Harry."

_So dawn goes down to day.  
Nothing gold can stay._

_~Robert Frost  
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	13. Love Lives

UchiSays: Welcome to ch 12 of Awkward Silence!This is the only chapter in which he will be staying with the Weasleys, because next chapter we finally ship them off to Hogwarts! Yay! Anyway, I thought I'd rant a bit about how much I absolutely LOVE Charlie Weasley, and not because he's cannonically gay... ok mostly because he's cannonically gay, but that's beside the point. I LOVE Charlie Weasley! My next fave after him would have to be a time between Bill and Percy, and Gred and Forge after them. The youngest two Weasleys can just go die in a hole for all I care- but that's off topic... I do hope you all enjoy this chapter.

~Itami

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**12. Love Lives**

_Love lives beyond  
The tomb, the earth, which fades like dew.  
I love the fond,  
The faithful, and the true_

It was storming again. Harry laid awake in a bright orange bedroom on the top floor of a crooked little house listening to the rain pound against the window, barely audible beneath the loud snores of his red headed roommate. Two weeks he had been sleeping in this room. Two weeks since he had been forcibly removed from the only place he was willing to call home.

Tomorrow would be his eleventh birthday, the first birthday in four/five years he wouldn't spend with Draco. He wondered if Ma-cissa would be disappointed for having to cancel the party she had put so much time into planning. It was to have been the biggest party ever, since it's not everyday a boy reaches Hogwarts' age, and being the last birthday of the season among their associates, it had to be the biggest and the best. Harry could picture his Ma-cissa's angry pout as she was forced to do damage control over the cancellation of what had promised to be _the_ social event of the season. He wondered how this would hurt her standing among the other pureblood matriarchs, but mostly he wondered if Draco was awake listening to the storm as well.

Never in his four years of residing in Malfoy Manor had he and Draco slept through a thunderstorm. Draco wasn't afraid of the storms anymore, but the bad weather had become something of a ritual bonding time for the two of them. They _always_ spent the time together: singing songs, reciting poetry, telling stories, and just enjoying each other's company. It was a much more welcoming experience than straining to hear the rain over raucous snoring.

Harry silently slipped out of his bed and headed out of the room. He walked as softly as he could down the stairs, so as to not wake on the house's numerous occupants. The Weasleys were a large family, but they were nice enough. The mother, Molly, more than lived up to her name with the excessive amount if mollycoddling she did, but she cooked great food. The father, Arthur, was a pleasant man, if not a bit too obsessed with all things Muggle. The children, he'd met six but had been told there was a seventh, were a rather lively bunch, the twins in particular. Though the only daughter, Ginny, was a bit of a strange one; she blushed every time Harry was within viewing distance of her and rarely spoke at all, not that Harry could hold the last part against her since he was the same way.

His roommate, Ron, wasn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer, though he wasn't stupid either. He spoke excessively about Quidditch, and had proved to be quite the challenge at Wizard's chess. Harry had learned pretty quickly to always keep an eye on twins, because they were generally up to some kind of mischief. Percy was a character, for there was no other word that could encompass all that is Percy Weasley; Harry thought for all his seeming intelligence he had horrid taste in books and entertainment. Charlie was cool though, Harry hadn't really gotten to know him very well. As a whole, Harry quite liked the Weasley family, even if he would whether be back with the Malfoys.

The living room of the Weasley home, the Burrow Molly had called it, was predictably empty when he reached it, considering it was reaching the midnight hour. Harry pulled up a chair by the window, took a seat, and watched the rain trickling down the glass panes. A flash of lightning lit up the sky and Harry began to recite just as the thunder rolled. "Because you are to me a song, I must not sing you over-long." He waited for the next flash of lightning. "Because you are to me a prayer, I cannot say you everywhere." At the third flash of lightning: "Because you are to me a rose- you will not stay when summer goes."

Harry had not expected to hear applause at the end of his recitation; he'd thought himself alone in the living room at this hour. He looked up in surprise when he heard the clapping, and found Charlie Weasley standing a few feet away watching him. "That was very good. What's it called? Did you write it?"

Harry shook his head and blushed, casting his eyes away from the Weasley. "'Passing Love', by the Muggle poet Langston Hughes."

"Hughes? I'm not familiar with his work, though poetry had always been a secret passion of mine." Harry said nothing, but glanced at the older male, before turning his eyes back to the window. "It's hard to believe the strong voice I just heard came from someone as soft-spoken as you. What brings you down here so late anyway? Are you afraid of the storm?"

Harry shook his had, shot another glance at Charlie, before once again setting his attention of the rain outside the window. Charlie seemed harmless enough, he was nice, and seemed genuinely curious. "We never sleep through thunderstorms," Harry explained. "Draco and I, that is. Not because we're afraid, but because it's our time."

Charlie pulled up a seat next to Harry and smiled at him. "Do you hear yourself when you speak of him?" At Harry's confused look, Charlie reiterated, "Your voice carries different inflections when you speak of different things. When you talk about Draco Malfoy, or any of the Malfoys for that matter, you sound so- I guess the words I'm looking for are calm and caring, at peace. It's obvious you're very fond of them, especially Draco."

Harry blushed. "I never noticed," he admitted.

"It's not a bad thing," Charlie assured. "I wish I could find someone to speak of like that, outside my family I mean. Your love for the Malfoys is so obvious in your voice and mannerisms; I wish I could find a love like that."

Charlie got a faraway look in his eyes and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Harry watched him in silence, feeling as if he was intruding on a private moment. Slowly, Charlie came back from the trip his thoughts had drifted off on. "So, a little birdie told that as of," he pulled out a pocket watch and looked at it- a moment's pause, "right now, it's your birthday. Is there anything you'd like to do?" Harry shrugged. "Well maybe, if I can convince Mom and Dad, I can take you to Diagon Alley to pick up your school supplies and we can stop for ice cream, after sunrise obviously. Sound good to you?" Harry nodded. "Good, well I better be getting up to bed, don't stay up too late."

Harry watched as Charlie got up and headed towards the stairs when something suddenly occurred to him. "Charlie, why were you up so late?"

Charlie smiled. "Another little birdie told me someone would be out of bed tonight and might like some company. Good-night, Harry."

"Good-night, Charlie."

_Love lives in sleep,  
The happiness of healthy dreams  
Eve's dews may weep,  
But love delightful seems._

Harry hadn't gotten to bed until just over an hour after Charlie's departure when the storm had finally slowed to steady downpour sans thunder and lightning. He got about six hours of sleep, before he was being awaken by Ron for breakfast. Charlie gave him a sympathetic smile as he entered the kitchen still half-asleep. Falling into his seat, Harry barely paid attention as Molly loaded his plate with food and told him to eat up.

Somewhere between eating four slices of bacon, two sunny-side up eggs, and half a serving of grits his mind finally woke up to the realization that the entire table was silent and waiting for him to say something. Blushing, Harry realized he had no idea what had been said. Admittedly, Harry had grown use to a bit of spoiling. Back at Malfoy Manor, Narcissa allowed them to sleep in the morning after late night thunderstorms and they ate an early brunch instead of having to drag themselves out of bed for breakfast. He had become accustomed a full eight hours of sleep and the six he'd gotten the night before had left him unable to properly function.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Harry asked.

Charlie chuckled. "Late night, Harry?" he teased.

Harry gave a small smile. "You have no idea."

"Bet Ron's snoring kept you awake?" George grinned. The others had been amazed by how easily Harry had learned to tell the twins apart; Harry knew his photographic memory and eye for detail played the biggest roles in noticing the subtle differences between the two, but such talents should be extorted for all they are worth. It had been George who spoke at that moment.

"Partly," Harry admitted.

Ron looked insulted. "I do not snore _that _loud!"

"Enough to wake the dead," Fred teased.

"OK, you two. Stop picking on your brother," Molly chided. "Harry, dear, would you like some more?" Harry had learned early in his stay, if left up to Molly everyone in the house would eat until they popped.

"No ma'am. But thank you. The food was delicious."

Molly smiled and accepted the compliment with due gratitude, before turning her attention to her other children.

"So, Harry, Charlie volunteered to take you to pick up your school supplies in Diagon Alley today. Sound like a plan to you?" Arthur asked. Harry nodded.

"By the way, Harry," Charlie said, "I forgot to wish you a happy birthday."

Harry looked surprised at the sudden comment.

"Oh Merlin," Molly exclaimed before Harry could speak, "How could I have forgotten? Happy birthday, dear. I'll have to bake you a cake by time you get back, ok? Well what are you lot waiting for," Molly turned to her children, "wish Harry a happy birthday, it's not everyday a boy reaches Hogwarts age."

"Happy birthday to you,"

"You live in a shoe,"

"You look like a monkey,"

"And smell like one, too."

Harry couldn't help but smile at the twins' antics.

"Happy birthday, mate." Ron smiled, before stuffing his mouth with eggs.

Percy gave a distracted wave and mumbled a "happy birthday", but his attention was set on revising his summer assignments.

"Ha-happy birthday, Harry," Ginny stammered, her face turning as red as her hair.

"Thank you," Harry smiled genially.

"That reminds me, I was supposed to give you your Hogwarts Letter ages ago; it arrived not long after you got here." Arthur stood and wandered out of the room. He returned not a minute later holding an envelope he handed to Harry. "It completely slipped my mind. You see, I had already gotten the boys' and taken them shopping a week prior."

Harry said nothing as he took the letter and opened it, a small smile on his face for he had been awaiting the arrival of this letter for four years now. He opened the envelope eagerly and his eyes devoured the short missive within, before turning to the list of supplies. He couldn't help but grin excitedly, he was going to Hogwarts.

"Harry," Charlie said, dragging Harry's attention from his letter, "if you're done eating, go upstairs and get ready so we can go."

Harry smiled at Charlie, before returning his letter to its envelope, and excusing himself from the table. On his way upstairs he was sure he heard Ron pleading to go with them.

_'Tis heard in Spring  
When lights and sunbeams, warm and kind,  
On angels' wing  
Bring love and music to the mind._

Harry had never been to Diagon Alley before. Over the years, when he lived with the Malfoys, all their shopping expeditions had been on foreign shore- usually _Le Rue de Saint Martine_- or else one of the adults would go to Diagon Alley and he and Draco would be left behind in the care of the other. Now that he thought about, Harry supposed it should have been strange to him, but now it made sense. The Malfoys hadn't wanted it to become common knowledge that Harry lived with them or else he would have been taken away sooner.

Staring in the mirror in the bathroom of the Burrow, Harry debated over whether or not he should attempt taming his hair. It always proved to be a hopeless feat to try. His hair wasn't a tangled mess as most would assume by looking at it. In fact, usually, his hair was completely tangle-free and very soft. It was also _very_ stubborn. Narcissa hadn't known what to think the first time his hair fought- and won- against her Grooming Charm. The stylist in Paris refused to ever work on his head again when they realized doing so was an exercise in futility. Draco found entertainment in the stories of how his hair would grow back overnight whenever someone attempted to cut it off. Lucius thought that was the strangest way for his raw magic to make itself known.

Running his fingers through his hair to make sure it didn't have any tangles, Harry decided any further actions would be fruitless. Stepping away from the mirror, Harry smoothed down his robes and gave himself a once over. To this day Draco still chose Harry's clothes for him. And now, even though Draco wasn't around to see him, he was still dictating his wardrobe since he'd had Dobby stack his clothes in outfits instead of sorting them by clothing type. Each pile of clothing consisted of a everything Harry was to wear that day from his robe down to his socks. At the moment he was wearing his best robe, a lovely bottle green colored garment with silver inlay. His black slacks were creased to perfection, and even his shoes were spic and span. With a nod of appreciation and an eager smile in place, Harry headed down to the living room to meet Charlie.

"There you are, Harry!" The older male said once Harry entered to room. "You ready to go?"

Harry nodded. "Is Ron coming, too?" He inquired.

"No. He wanted to, but I reminded mom he was supposed to de-gnome the garden today. Did you want him to come?"

Harry gave a noncommittal shrug. He had only asked because he had heard Ron pleading to go along as well. Harry really didn't care either way actually. He and Ron got along well and he enjoyed the other's company, but they weren't exactly the best of friends.

"Right, so we'll be Flooing to the Leaky Cauldron and entering Diagon Alley from there. You know how to work the Floo?" Harry nodded. "Good, then you can go first and I'll follow you. Remember to say your destination clearly."

Harry nodded again and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. He threw the powder and called his destination, before disappearing through the green flames. It was with practice grace he managed to walk out of the Floo without going sprawling to the ground like his first few uses of this mode of transportation. Calmly he stepped away from the fireplace and awaited Charlie's arrival, giving a nonchalant glance around the room as he did so.

The Leaky Cauldron was crowded with about twenty patrons plus the ten or so members of the staff on duty. Harry only had time to send one quick glance around before Charlie arrived, but that was enough to commit the scene to memory. Charlie stepped out of the Floo with less grace than Harry, but he had at least managed to maintain his balance.

"OK, Harry," Charlie said in a hushed tone, "keep your head down and your eyes straight ahead unless you want to attract a large amount of attention. You're a celebrity in these parts." Harry nodded and did as he was told, following Charlie's quick strides to the brick wall near the bar where the red head tapped his wand and they entered Diagon Alley without being noticed.

Diagon Alley was a sight to behold. The hustle and bustle of people rushing about, the tightly packed shops, the feeling of open contentment. The whole area pulsated with life and it brought a smile to Harry's face.

"First stop Gringott's." Charlie set course through the crowd, towards the wizarding bank. Harry rushed after him, his wide green eyes scoping the area and taking in everything around him. Compared to its French equivalent, Diagon Alley wasn't very large, but it was still overflowing with attention grabbing sites. Seeing the boy's amazement, Charlie took it upon himself to point out different shops to Harry that they would either be visiting that day or he just though Harry might enjoy.

Soon enough, they were climbing the stone steps of Gringott's. Harry gave a brief glance at the warning poem over the door having already memorized it the first time he's visited the bank in France. Charlie led the way inside and up to one of the Goblin Tellers. "We need to make a withdrawal from Harry's vault," Charlie informed the Goblin, Griphook was his name.

"Do you have your key?" Griphook asked.

Harry and Charlie both delved hands into their pockets and pulled out keys. "Here it is," they said in unison.

"Harry, how did you get a key to the Potter vault?" Charlie inquired. "Dumbledore said he'd given the only copy to my father to pass on to you."

"This is the key to my Malfoy Trust Vault," Harry said, he hadn't even thought about the fact he'd be inheriting a Potter vault. The Malfoy's had set him up a Trust Fund not long after his seventh birthday. Over the years anytime he wanted to buy something, the money would either come from his allowance or the Trust.

"You have a Malfoy Trust Vault?" Charlie looked bewildered. "Suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Which vault will you be making a withdrawal from?" Griphook asked.

"The Potter Vault," Charlie answered for them. "Harry needs to at least look at what's inside. You can go back to spending Malfoy money at another time." There was none of the venom in his voice that Harry had grown accustomed to hearing whenever one of the other Weasleys spoke of the Malfoys and their influence on Harry.

Harry nodded and returned his key to his pocket, before following Charlie and Griphook down to the bowels of Gringott's. After a rather speedy cart ride, they arrived at his Potter vault and Harry went in and retrieved some Galleons. After hearing Charlie whistle at the amount of money inside the vault, Harry mentally noted that it was about the same size of his Malfoy Trust maybe a bit larger, but not by much. The journey back to the surface was fairly quick and the two of them departed Gringott's without incident.

As they were exiting they bumped into a large man- a really large man- that Charlie seemed to know. "Hagrid," Charlie said by way of greeting.

"Charlie!" The man, Hagrid was it, greeted in turn. "What brings you here today?"

"Taking Harry school shopping."

"Well, if it isn't Harry Potter. Last time I saw ya, yer could fit in the palm of my hand. You've grown."

"Hagrid is groundskeeper at Hogwarts. You'll see him plenty when you get to school."

"Well Charlie, Harry, I've got to run. On an errand for Dumbledore you see."

"Right, good to see you, Hagrid." They watched as the man disappeared into the bank, before Charlie turned to Harry. "A little birdie told me it would be in our best interest to visit Madam Malkin's now," he commented, setting course for the robe shop he'd pointed out to Harry earlier.

"Do you always listen to things little birdies tweet in your ear?" Harry couldn't resist asking, since apparently Charlie was associating with some very chatty birdies. Charlie only smiled, opened the shop door, and allowed Harry to step in before him.

"Harry!"

Harry's first thought was he had missed the sound of that voice. His second thought was "Draco!"

The Malfoy heir abandoned all matters of public decorum as he ran over and literally pounced on Harry. "How have you been? I've missed you so much." Draco's arms wrapped around him in a strangulating hug and Harry couldn't help but smile in contentment at the familiarity of the embrace.

"I've missed you too, Draco. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you, obviously. I thought you'd never get here." Draco broke the hug and smiled cheerfully at his playmate.

"Draco, do you need another lecture on patience?" A chastising female voice inquired.

"Mother Narcissa," Harry said breathlessly, before catching himself and remembering his manners. "Hello, Lady Malfoy." he greeted politely.

"Hello, Harry." Narcissa gave a radiant smile and Harry was dieing to rush into her arms and squeeze her for all of life's worth. She was the only mother figure he had ever known, and he craved her gentle embraces as much as he craved Draco's overly-enthusiastic ones. As if she had read his mind, Narcissa spread her arms invitingly. "The damage as already been done," she teased.

Harry's face lit up with joyous excitement as he rushed into the matriarch's arms. "I've missed you, Ma-cissa."

"And I you, Har-Bear." Harry hadn't heard that pet name in far too long.

The hug with Narcissa ended and Draco once again pounced on him. "Happy birthday, Harry."

"Thank you."

"OK you two, let's get your robe fittings over with so we can meet up with Lucius and Ollivander's." Narcissa directed the boys towards where Madam Malkin and her assistant were waiting.

"So, Harry," Charlie said once Harry had begun getting fitted for his Hogwarts' robes, "you still have a problem with me conversing with little birdies?"

_And where is voice,  
So young, so beautiful and sweet  
As nature's choice  
Where Spring and lovers meet?_

It turned out that the whole outing had been planned in letters between Narcissa and Charlie. Dumbledore had ordered the Weasleys to make sure Harry had no further contact with the Malfoys, but Narcissa had thought it would be a good idea for the boys to get together once more before school started, so she had written to Arthur and Molly requesting they set a date to take Harry and Draco school shopping together. Charlie had intercepted the letter, and knowing his parents wouldn't agree but feeling sympathetic to the cause, he wrote back to Narcissa explaining the situation. Deciding the best way to implement the plan would be to claim he was taking Harry out for his birthday, they had orchestrated the entire thing.

After leaving Madam Malkin's, the group headed to Ollivander's where Lucius was waiting patiently for them. After trying many different wands, Harry left with a wand of Phoenix feather core, and the information that it was the brother wand to Voldemort's. From there they headed to the Apothecary for Potion's ingredients, followed by a half hour trip to Flourish and Blotts, where they picked up their course books and Harry got lost trying to pick out some books for fun-reading and they had to talk him into narrowing his selection of fifteen books down to six with the promise he could come back for more later.

They took a side trip to Quality Quidditch, where both of the boys drooled over the new Nimbus 2000 brooms, before heading to pick up owls for them. Draco tried to convince Lucius to get Harry a snake but was denied- just as he had been when they were seven and discovered Harry was a Parselmouth and every year after when he was convinced maybe Lucius would say yes this time. After making sure they had all of the supplies they needed for the coming school year plus some things they didn't need, they wrapped up the trip at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where the boys were granted permission to order triple scoop, waffle bowls, with their choice of toppings.

As they sat eating their sweet treats, the two boys engaged in one of their secret conversations.

Draco snapped his fingers twice. 'I've missed you.' he signed.

'I missed you, too. How have you been?'

'Bored. Did you sleep last night?'

'No. Did you?'

'No. I sang songs for you. Wished you were there.'

'I recited for you. Wished you were there, too. Charlie sat with me for a while. Ma-cissa told him I wouldn't sleep. Still missed you though.'

Draco seemed happy about the last part. 'He seems nice.' he signed.

'They all are. Though the father doesn't like Lucius.'

'Who does?'

They both broke into giggles. 'Not nice.' Harry chastised.

'Joking.'

"Would you two mind letting the rest of us in on the joke?" Lucius asked, which made the boys laugh harder.

"Sorry, father," Draco withered at his father's glare. "We're done."

"So, Harry," Narcissa cut in, "your teacher wants to know if you've been keeping up with your training."

Harry had mind to look guilty at this, since he hadn't put any thought into his martial arts training since he left Malfoy manor.

The conversation continued on about trivial things, until Charlie reluctantly pointed out it was time he be getting Harry back. Harry said his goodbyes to the Malfoys and Draco once again gave him a hug, a quick one this time since they were in a more public place. "Be sure to Owl me, Harry." He ordered. Harry nodded, and Draco dug into his robe pockets and pulled out a small parcel wrapped in an ice blue colored cloth. "Happy birthday, Harry."

Harry took the parcel with a smile. "Thank you." he said, running his fingers over the soft fabric. "Is this-"

"My blanket? Yeah. I forgot to have Dobby pack yours and I've grown quite fond of it, so I thought we could trade until school starts. Have Charlie re-enlarge it when you get back."

"Thank you," Harry said again. Their blankets were special to them. Narcissa had gotten them when they were seven. Harry's was emerald green with his name stitched on it in silver. Draco's was ice blue with name stitched in white. Both were made of the softest fleece Harry had ever felt and were woven through with various charms ranging from simple temperature charms to strong protection charms.

"That's not your present, just the wrapping. I do hope you like it. I actually paid for with my allowance. I saved up for it instead of just getting the money out of my trust. I was actually saving for it before I even knew what I was going to get you. But don't open it here. Wait until I'm gone."

Harry's smile was enough to carry all of his emotions to Draco: happiness, humor, joy, trust, loyalty, and a platonic form of love. "I'm sure I'll love it." After repeating their goodbyes to the Malfoy family, Harry and Charlie departed towards the Leaky Cauldron.

Halfway to their destination, Harry unwrapped the present from Draco and found a plain black jewelry box. What was inside took his breath away.

The locket was rectangular shaped and made of pure silver. The image of a dandelion blowing in the wind was engraved on the cover. Inside there was a picture of six year old Harry and Draco. They were dressed in their pirate costumes, Draco had one arm flung around Harry, the other arm was swinging his wooden sword excitedly, the largest smile Harry had ever seen split across the blond's face. Next to him, Harry smiled shyly at the camera, before shifting his gaze to Draco and looking at the boy with nothing short of complete and utter awe and unconditional trust and loyalty shining in his eyes. Engraved into the inside lid opposite the picture were the numbers 2-25 12-2-14.

"What does the numbers mean?" Charlie asked, peering down at the locket. "It's not a date."

"It's Tipher," Harry explained. "Draco and mine's secret code."

"A secret code? What does that say."

Harry smiled, closed the locket, and pulled the chain over his head. "It says 'my boy'."

_Love lives beyond  
The tomb, the earth, the flowers, and dew.  
I love the fond  
The faithful, young and true._

_~John Clare_


	14. The End of the Episode

**UchiSays:** I'm posting this from Study Hall on my first day of school. I am so happy to be back in school with my friends and so i decided I should finally post the chapter where we send our dear boys off to school. The final decision on the Sorting has been made, and I hope my reasoning is explained enough within the chapter. Enjoy, and I can't wait for you reviews.

~Itami

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**13. The End of the Episode**

_Indulge no more may we  
In this sweet-bitter pastime:  
The love-light shines the last time  
Between you, Dear, and me._

The last month of summer past quickly for Harry and all those at the Burrow. Early into the month of August Charlie departed for Romania. He had originally intended to wait until the end of the month, but there had been a disagreement between him and his parents after they had learned Charlie had taken Harry to see the Malfoys. Charlie insisted that wasn't the reason he'd chosen to leave early, but Harry knew the truth. After Charlie's departure, Harry was given his room to sleep in and he spent a lot of time in there reading his new course books for the upcoming school-year. This only kept him busy for about a week, and after reading all six of the additional books he had bought that day, he really didn't have much to do.

It was around this time that he started hanging with Ron and the twins more. He got on well with Ron, usually they played games of Wizard's Chest or two on two Quidditch with the twins. Fred and George enlisted Harry's help with various pranks being pulled around the household. Over the month of August, Harry began to consider the three Weasley boys to be good friends of his, something he was proud or because it was his first time making friends outside of Draco's group.

After the reminder from Narcissa, Harry resumed working on his Martial Arts training. He woke up Saturday mornings before everyone else and slipped out into the back yard to and worked on his strength training and practiced the more complicated techniques he had learned over the years. Life fell into an easy pattern for him, and before he knew it August had ended and the day had come for him to depart for Hogwarts.

Harry had dreamed of this day since the time he was six and Lucius had told him all about Hogwarts. He had dreamed of waking up the morning of September first to Draco standing by his bed and excitedly shaking him awake. As always, Draco would bounce into his bathroom and draw Harry a bath before going and picking out his clothes. After they got ready, the two of them would rush downstairs and be greeted by a warmly smiling Narcissa, who would sit them down and insist they eat their fill, before chastising Harry for eating Draco's eggs for him again. Lucius would sit a the head of the table and smile proudly at the boys, before giving them a lecture on what he expected of them at Hogwarts. After breakfast, Narcissa would insist on having the house elves double check to see if they had everything they needed packed in their trunks. And the family of four would depart to Kings Cross Station where Ma-cissa would hug them goodbye on the platform, and Lucius would cup them affectionately of the shoulder before the boys boarded the train and searched out their friends. That was how Harry had pictured this morning would go for years.

As it was, he woke to the sound of a rather loud squeal of surprise, followed by a loud 'thump', and then raucous laughter. And frowned as he laid in bed trying to determine what had just happened, before he realized the twins had decided to wake Ron by overturning his mattress and dumping him on the floor. Deciding he better get up before they decided he needed the same wake-up call, Harry slipped out of bed and padded barefoot over to his trunk. After obtaining a set of clothes for the day, he made his way towards the bathroom where he bumped into Ginny. He wished the girl a good morning, to which she only blushed and rushed away.

He was barely in the bathroom before someone could be heard pounding on the door asking him to hurry it up. Without a word, Harry rushed through his morning preparations, nodded a greeting to Ron outside the bathroom, before returning to his room where he made sure everything was packed in his trunks (he had two, one he had brought with him from the Malfoys, and another he had picked up in Diagon Alley when he was school shopping). Sticking his head out of his door, he enlisted the helped of the first twin his saw, Fred, to help him carry the two trunks down to the living room, before Molly ushered them both into the kitchen and past them plates piled high with more food than they could eat.

As the morning progressed, the house quickly melted into chaos as everyone suddenly remembered things they forgot and Percy accused the twins of hiding his prefect's badge. Ginny got enlisted in the search for the elusive badge. Ron suddenly contacted a case of the nerves due to something Fred told him. George got caught trying to smuggle a bag of Zonko's items into his trunk. Molly rushed about still trying to feed everyone. Arthur was mysteriously absent from the whole affair. And Harry sat back petting the owl Lucius had bought for him, a snow white owl by the name of Hedwig, watching the chaotic scene, glad he'd gotten all his stuff together two days prior. Finally Percy found his badge in the bathroom, hidden behind the toilet. Ron got over he nerves enough to panic about forgetting to pack his wand. Fred liberated George's confiscated bag of paraphernalia and put it in his own trunk. Molly packed everyone bagged lunches. And Arthur arrived with a Ministry car to transport the group to King's Cross.

The twins spent the car ride alternately driving Percy crazy and trying to rile Ron up. Harry thought Ginny night be in a coma or something, she hadn't moved or said a word since she had slid into the car next to him. Ron was trying to ignore the twins, while poking at his pet rat Scabbers. Harry spent the car ride staring out the window and speculating about how amazing Hogwarts was going to be, what house would be be in, and what was Draco doing at this moment.

They arrived at the station soon enough, Arthur stayed with the car, and the rest of the group loaded their trunks onto push carts. The station was filled with Muggles and Harry couldn't help but think their group stood out at least a little. None of the Muggles were carrying owls or the like.

"Now, what's the platform number?" Molly asked.

"Nine and three-quarters!" Ginny piped in, she was walking with her mother and thus wasn't suffering from the comatose state she fell into when near Harry. "Mom, can't I go..." she'd been trying to convince her parents to let her go to Hogwarts with the boys all summer from what Harry could tell.

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." Harry watched as Percy pushed his cart into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. If you blinked, you could have missed it. Percy slipped through the barrier with ease and was gone. Harry hadn't become desensitized to all that magic could do, and he stared in awe at the barrier, before pulling his eyes away and glancing around the platform wondering if this was the same way Draco would be entering the platform and if he was already there or not.

"Harry, come on before Ron," Molly called him. Harry pushed his cart up and Molly smiled sweetly at him. "Remember walk straight at the barrier, and don't fear crashing into the wall; that's important. Better give it a running start if you get frightened."

Harry nodded, adjusted the strap on his satchel of books, and lined his cart up with the barrier. He took a deep breath and started walking towards it. He tried to clear his mind of all fears of crashing and kept a steady pace until he passed through the barrier onto the crowded platform.

The scarlet colored stream engine was the first thing to catch his attention, the sign over it that read Hogwarts Express the second. Turning around he noted a wrought iron gate with the platform number written over it was in the place of the barrier he'd passed through. Harry smiled, he had made it.

_There shall remain no trace  
Of what so closely tied us,  
And blank as ere love eyes us  
Will be out meeting-place._

Smoke from the engine drifted over the head of the chattering people on the platform, cats of every color wound between peoples legs, owls hooted to each other over the scraping of heavy trunks. Harry pushed his cart forward and cut a path to the train. The front carts of the train were already filled, so he pushed down the platform searching for Draco or an empty seat- whichever came first. He picked up scraps of conversations as he went along and watched the people along the platform. Finally he found an empty compartment and lifted Hedwig inside, before trying to get his first trunk into the train.

"Need help?" A voice asked. Harry nodded. "Come on, Fred, lend a hand." George called to his brother and the two of them lifted Harry's two trunks onto the train.

"Thanks."

"No problem. See ya later, Harry."

"I'd go say bye to mom if I was you. She won't be pleased if you just disappeared."

As if to prove Fred truth, Molly's voice rang above the noise of the crowd at that moment. "Fred? George? Harry? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom."

Harry slipped off the train and followed the twins over to where the rest of the Weasleys stood. Harry only half paid attention to what the Weasleys were saying and doing as he searched the platform for a familiar head of platinum blond hair, but Draco was no where in sight.

"Harry, did you hear me?" Molly pulled Harry's full attention back to the group.

"Yes ma'am, thank you." He said, she had just wished him to have a good term.

"Harry!"

"Draco!"

Draco rushed across the platform and greeted Harry with a large smile, there was too many on the platform for it to be considered proper to hug each other. "_Bonjour, 'Arry. Comment ca va? _[Hello, Harry. How are you?]_" _Draco asked, he tended to speak French when he was excited but wasn't in a place that warranted privacy enough to outwardly show it.

"_Ca va bien. Merci et toi? _[I'm fine. Thanks, and you?]_"_

"_Pas __mal.__ Tu me manque. _[Not bad. I missed you.]_" _

"_Tu me manque, __aussi._[I missed you, too.]_"_

"Hello, Harry."

Harry's smile, if possible, grew even larger. "Hello, Mother Narcissa. How are you?"

"Wonderful."

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius nodded his greeting. "How have you been?"

"I've been good."

"Harry, remember your manners," Narcissa said inclining her head towards the Weasleys.

"My apologies," Harry blushed, then made introductions between the two families.

Narcissa smiled sweetly at Molly. "It was very kind of you to look after our Harry. I do hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"No, not trouble at all."

"Come on, Harry, let the adults talk." Draco grabbed Harry's hand and began tugging him towards the train.

"Draconis," Narcissa's voice cut off their escape. "Do not leave without my goodbyes."

"Sorry, Mother, Father. Goodbye, I'll owl you as soon as possible."

"You had better. You as well, Harry." Narcissa smiled and gave Draco a quick hug, before awarding the same treatment to Harry.

"Yes ma'am, goodbye Ma-cissa. Goodbye Mr. Malfoy."

"You boys have a good term," Lucius said before finally allowing them to escape. Not a moment too soon either since the train whistle blew at that moment. Harry sent a wave towards the two families, before following Draco onto the train.

"I put my stuff in the compartment where you left Hedwig," Draco said, pulling Harry down the train. "Blaise should be in there as well." They reached the compartment and opened the door. It was now occupied by not only Blaise, but Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, and a girl by the name of Lavender Brown who Harry had met at one of Pansy's birthday parties. "Hey guys!" Draco greeted everyone, pulling Harry in to the last two seats in the compartment. Greetings were exchanged and polite conversation struck up.

"So, Harry, how was life with the Weasleys?" Blaise asked.

Harry shrugged. "Not horrible." Everyone knew not to press Harry for more details since he probably wouldn't answer if he didn't deem the topic important enough to waste words on. Conversation drifted to other topics.

"Harry!" The door to the compartment slid open and George stuck his head inside, followed by Fred.

"Do you know-"

"Where ickle Ronnie is?"

"We want to ask him-"

"For his corned beef."

"He hates the stuff-"

"And Lee Jordan has a-"

"Giant tarantula!" Harry was probably the only once in the compartment who could make the connection between the two seemingly random things the twins were talking about.

He smiled and shook his head. "Don't do anything too stupid."

"No worries, Harry-"

"Tarantulas are practically harmless."

"Unless provoked with corned beef," Harry teased.

The twins laughed. "Later, Harry." They left and slid the door closed after them.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Blaise asked hesitantly.

"The twins are pranksters," Harry said byway of explanation.

"Right." The conversation once again drifted to topics Harry didn't have to comment on, until the trolley rolled around. Harry and Draco both had a sweet tooth, so they splurged on on a bunch of junk food. The rest of the group continued chatting, while Harry read one of his books and ate a couple of chocolate frogs.

"Have anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," a girl with bushy brown hair and overly large teeth asked, sticking her head into the compartment.

The rest of the group just glanced at her, then turned back to their conversations. Harry sighed and closed his book, he knew none of the rest would answer her and she most likely wouldn't go away until one of them did. "No we haven't," Harry said.

The girl smiled at him and glanced down at the book in his lap. "What are you reading? It's not one of our course books. I've already read them all. No one in my family is magic. I was thrilled to get my letter. So, what are you reading."

"Mudblood," Pansy mumbled under her breath.

Harry shot her a look. "Parkinson," he chastised.

"Potter," she said back remorseless.

"Pansy," this time it was Draco chastising her for the way she was talking to Harry.

"Draco," Pansy whined.

"Blaise!" Blaise piped in, getting a laugh out of the rest of the group.

"Potter? Harry Potter?" The girl asked. Harry nodded. "I know all about you of course- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"You forgot _Modern Magical History." _Books were always a good topic to bring up if you actually wanted Harry to participate in the conversation.

"Right. I forgot. I'm Hermione Granger by the way. What are you reading?"

"_106 Useless Potions_."

"Haven't read that one," Hermione said.

"Harry, it's time to change into our robes," Draco cut in.

"Right, I bets go help Neville find his told. See you around, Harry."

Harry smiled pleasantly and Hermione left.

"About time," Pansy moaned, "I thought she would never leave. I was about to breakout in hives, I'm allergic to Mudbloods you know."

"Parkinson," Harry chastised, "do _not_ use that word. Around me or elsewhere. My mother was Muggle-born you know."

"Pansy, we've discussed this," Draco said.

"Right, sorry. Old habits and all that rot."

"It's ok, just don't do it again," Draco said. "Anyway, we really aught to get into our robes. We're almost there.

_Though fervent was our vow,  
Though ruddily ran our pleasure,  
Bliss had fulfilled its measure,  
And sees its sentence now._

They had all changed into their robes by time the train rolled to a stop at Hogsmeade station. Harry stuck close to Draco and Blaise as everyone pushed their way towards the doors and out onto the tiny platform. He shivered from the cold night air, and Draco draped and arm over his shoulder, pulling him close to share the other boy's body heat. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

Harry had only ever had one short conversation with the Hogwarts groundskeeper, but Hagrid had a very distinct pattern of speech. "You know him, Harry?" Draco asked softly, a look of weary dislike on his face as they followed the other first years over.

"That's Hagrid," Harry replied softly, Lucius had told them a bit about Hagrid so he knew he wouldn't have to say anything else.

"No more'n four to a boat." Hagrid pointed to a small fleet of boats. Harry, Blaise, and Draco slipped into one and Hermione popped up out of nowhere and joined them, earning her a venomous glare from Pansy.

"Do you guys know what House you'll be in?" Hermione asked. "I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

"We're all going to be in Slytherin," Draco told her. "My whole family has been in Slytherin, and so has most of Blaise's. Harry might be in Ravenclaw though. Definitely not in Gryffindor." Draco's tone said there was no room for further discussion, which was ok, because at that moment the boats pulled into some kind of underground harbor and they clambered onto rocks and pebbles.

Harry stuck close to Draco's side, as they followed Hagrid and the rest of the first up that path and to a set of gigantic oak doors. The giant man raised his fist and knocked three times, and the doors swung open at once.

The woman on the other side of the door was tall, with black hair, rich emerald robes, and a stern faced that warned of consequences if one was to make her cross. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you Hagrid. I'll take them from here." She pulled the door wide unto a large entrance hall, lit by flaming torches, with a ceiling too high to be seen, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them leading to upper floors. As they followed McGonagall across the flagstone floor, Harry heard a drone of voices from a doorway to the right, telling him the rest of the school must already be here.

McGonagall led them to a small empty chamber off the hall and began a speech about how they were about to partake in the all important sorting ceremony that would put them in their Houses. She detailed how while at the school your house would be like your family and how you will do just about everything your house. She went into how the point system worked and about the House Cup. Harry already knew all of this from talks with Narcissa and, on occasions, Lucius. He'd also read _Hogwarts, A History_.

"I'll return for you shortly," Professor McGonagall said. "Please wait quietly." She left the chamber.

"Harry!" a voice called out from somewhere within the crowd of frightened first years.

"Ron," Harry greeted upon seeing the familiar redhead making his way towards him.

"Where were you on the train?" Ron asked. "I looked for you, but ended up sitting with some other first years."

"I sat with Draco," Harry said, some what apologetically. "Our compartment was full."

"No worries. So the sorting ceremony? What do you reckon it is? Some sort of test, I think. Fred says it hurts, but I think he was joking."

"Hmm," was Harry only reply.

"Harry, look!" Draco said from his other side, pointing to two ghost that had just drifted into the room and began making conversation with the students.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said one of the ghost. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned and one by one the ghost floated through the opposite wall. "Now form a line and follow me."

Feeling a bit nervous, Harry slid into the line with Draco on his one side and Ron on the other. The room they were led in was lit by thousands of floating candles above four long tables where the other students were sitting. The tables were adorned with gold plates and goblets and dotted among the students ghost shown in a misty silver. There was another long table where the teachers were sitting at the top of the hall. The first years were brought to a stop facing the tables of students with their backs to the teachers. To avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward at the velvet black ceiling dotted with stars. He'd read it was enchanted to look like the sky outside, but he found it increasingly hard to believe there was actually a ceiling at all.

Harry's attention was brought back down when Professors McGonagall set a stool down in front of the Hall and placed a tattered old hat onto it. There was a moment of complete silence in which Harry stared inquiringly at the hat. Then the hat twitched. A rip opened near the brim and- Harry made a sharp intake of breath- the hat began to sing. (a.n. I'm sure you're all capable of finding the sorting song yourself if you really desire to read it)

There was a burst of applause at the end of the song and Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

After two new Hufflepuffs and two Ravenclaws, Harry heard the first familiar name to him. Lavender Brown was a nice girl, a friend of Pansy's that he had met a few time over the years. She had also sat with them on the train. She became the first new Gryffindor.

After her, Millicent Bulstrode- who Harry still wasn't very fond of after all these years- became a Slytherin. Harry continued to watch the sorting silently. Hermione Granger got her wish to be a Gryffindor- causing Ron to groan in annoyance for some unknown reason- and the boy who'd lost his toad, Neville Longbottom, also became a Gryffindor.

"Malfoy, Draco!" was called, and Draco gave Harry's hand a little squeeze, before swaggering forward with all the grace and confidence befit a Malfoy. The hat a barely touched his head, before it called out "SLYTHERIN!" Harry smiled proudly at his playmate as he went and joined Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table.

There weren't many people left now. Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson both made Slytherin. A set of identical twin girls were split one to Ravenclaw one to Gryffindor. "Perks, Sally-Ann" was sorted, and then finally-

"Potter, Harry!" Harry ignored the whispering that broke out at the call of his name- he'd been expecting them since was a bit of a celebrity in these parts- and strode forwards.

"Hmm," a small voice said in his year after he put the hat on and sat down. "Difficult. Very difficult. Intelligence. Very large thirst for knowledge. Ravenclaw would do you good. But loyal as well. Extremely loyal to those who earn your trust. But you are definitely no Hufflepuff. Courage, though. Yes, I see plenty of courage. And a thirst prove yourself. But where to put you. It's all right here in your mind. I can see it all. Malfoy influence will make you an ideal Slytherin, but I fear what you would become if I allow you to remain chasing his approval. No, putting you in Slytherin will do harm than good- for it will leave you as nothing more than Malfoy's pet. So not Slytherin nor Hufflepuff. A photographic memory will be an advantage no matter what house you go in. But putting you in Ravenclaw will allow you to lose yourself in books and never discover who you really are. No. I'm going to have to go with: GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry was in shock. The Gryffindor table had burst into loud spews of applause, but all Harry could think as he made his way shakily towards them was 'I was supposed to be in Slytherin'. Harry shot a look towards the Slytherin table; Draco was looking back at him eyes wide in shock. He caught Harry looking at him and quickly turned away, but not before Harry caught his look of contempt. Harry paid no attention to the fact that he was getting the loudest cheer yet and he completely tuned out the rest of the sorting.

He vaguely realized that Ron had joined him at the Gryffindor table, and he looked up in time to see Blaise heading towards Slytherin. The Headmaster Dumbledore got to his feet and spewed out nonsense and the feast began.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, when she realized Harry hadn't touched any of the food.

"I was supposed to be in Slytherin," Harry said softly. "Either that or Ravenclaw. Draco is mad at me; I know it. I wasn't supposed to be a Gryffindor."

"Cheer up, Harry!" Ron said. "Gryffindor is loads better than those other houses. I don't know why you'd want to be a bloody snake. Only dark wizards come from there you know."

"Not all Slytherins are dark!" Harry snapped. "Like not all Gryffindors are good. I wanted to be a Slytherin, because that's where I felt I belong. That's where Draco is. We swore we'd be in Slytherin together if I wasn't a Ravenclaw. He probably hates me now."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Hermione said sympathetically.

Harry sighed and filled his plate with food, ignoring everything else said. After the meal was complete, Dumbledore stood and said a few more things and everyone did a bad rendition of the school song before they were dismissed. Percy Weasley, the prefect, gathered the first years around him and began to lead them from the Hall. Harry saw the Slytherins leave at the same time and head in the opposite direction. Without thinking, Harry asked Percy to wait a moment, and he ran over to the Slytherins.

"Draco," he called out. The Slytherins all stopped and Draco turned slowly to look at him. "Draco I'm-"

"Run along, Potter," Draco cut him off. "Don't want to keep your Gryffindors waiting, do you?" Draco turned away from Harry and walked off, leaving Harry standing there completely speechless.

"Cheer up, Harry," Blaise said, patting him on the back. "Draco will come around."

Harry could only hope Blaise was right as he made his way towards the waiting Gryffindors.

_Ache deep, but make no moans:  
Smile out; but stilly suffer:  
The paths of love are rougher  
Than thoroughfares of stones.  
~Thomas Hardy_


	15. You'll Love me Yet

**UchiSays: **This chapter sucks, but it's long overdue and I cannot figure any other way to make things work. There will be a semi-filler chapter posted within the next two weeks after this one, then there will be a time skip to their fourth year (just a little heads up). I know this chapter isn't the best, but stick with me and I promise I'll make it worth your while.

~Itami

**

* * *

**

**14. You'll Love me Yet**

_You'll love me yet! - And I can tarry  
Your love's protracted growing:  
June rear'd that bunch of flowers you carry,  
From seeds of April sowing._

His first year at Hogwarts had started off bad and Harry was partly convinced it would only get worst, while also in part convinced that he was already at rock bottom and the only way to go was up. Hermione kept trying to convince him that Draco would come around and tried to distract him with talks about books. Ron told him he was better off without Malfoy and then tried to coerce him into as game of Wizard's Chess. Harry thanked them both for their efforts and went off to find a quiet place to read.

Sometimes he would see the Slytherins in class or in the corridors. Those times were the hardest, because Draco always ignored his existence. Blaise always gave him a sympathetic smile, a pat on the back, and whispered words of reassurance. Daphne Greengrass would talk to him for a bit and so would Tracey Davis. No one else acknowledged the tension between Harry and his (former?) playmate either because they didn't care (Pansy), didn't like Harry (Nott and Bulstrode), or were too dense to even notice the situation (Crabbe and Goyle).

Harry had wanted to talk to Professor Snape about it since he was a familiar face that Harry could trust, but Sev'rus had warned ahead of time that the two of them were not allowed to be overly familiar with each other once school started since it would be too risky. So Harry was pretty much alone in his endeavor to regain his former friendship.

At least Draco wasn't being deliberately cruel to Harry like he was being to the other Gryffindors; though he doubted Draco was very happy with him for sticking up for his housemates. But Draco knew Harry wasn't the type to turn a blind eye to bullying of any form. It should have been expected for Harry to defend his new friend Neville when Draco had stolen his Rememberall at their first flying during the second week of school, but playing hero to the Gryffindors didn't score Harry any points in Draco's book even if it did score him the spot of the youngest seeker of the century.

On the bright-side, Harry loved his classes (well not History of Magic, but who could possibly love such a boring class). His teachers were amazing, for the most part that is since there's always notable exceptions. His lessons were entertaining and informative. Potions was his worst subject even though he'd been studying the subject for years. This was partly because Snape's cruelty wasn't conducive to learning and partly because knowing all the theory in the world wouldn't matter if you failed at the practical applications. And Harry was pants at practical Potions. His best class was Charms, because he'd already memorized appropriate incantations and wand movements ahead of time and had proved to have the magical fortitude needed to make them work. He sometimes wondered if Defence Against the Dark Arts would be his best subject if they had another teacher; since the subject really interested him. As it was, Quirrell was a mediocre teacher afraid of his own shadow and something about him just rubbed Harry wrong.

Ron was less than enthusiastic about their workload, as opposed to Hermione who as over-enthusiastic. Harry was on the fence leaning more towards Hermione's side, but he knew he would have loved his time here at Hogwarts if it wasn't for the issue with Draco.

Quite simply: Harry missed his playmate. He missed him more than anything in the world. This separation was worse than the time right after Draco had turned seven and begun spending all his time with Lucius. This was worse than the time they'd fought and had stopped speaking to each other for three days. Harry was heartbroken over the fact that he and Draco had spent so much time daydreaming about all they would were going to do at Hogwarts together and it was now all ruined because of the decision of a stupid piece of clothing. Who was the Sorting Hat to decide what was best for Harry anyway? Wouldn't Harry know what was best for him more than some hat that claimed to be able to see everything in Harry's head? If the Hat could really see everything he would have known the best place for Harry was right at Draco's side.

After the first week of classes, Harry had finally gotten around to writing to Narcissa as he had promised to do, crying his woes to her and briefly mentioning his how his classes were going. Ma-cissa had written back that her son was being foolish and childish, but she knew for certain he would come around eventually if for no other reason than his possessive insistence that Harry was 'his boy' and the jealous streak he had whenever Harry was friendly with anyone else. She was sure Draco wouldn't be able to stand it if Harry seemed happy without him. She advised that Harry not let Draco's recalcitrant pride get to him. If Harry seemed to have gotten on with his life, Draco would eventually cave, the two of them would have a fantastic row, but afterward they would be friends again. She was certain of this because she had watched them together for four years and knew how her sons- Harry had smiled at the inclusion of him as her son- worked.

Having no reason not to trust Narcissa's judgment, especially since she had never given him anything buy good advice in the past, Harry set about getting on with his life. Meanwhile he never took off the locket Draco had given him for his birthday and endured his dorm mates playful jibing about sleeping with Draco's blanket on his bed- since they'd never gotten around to switching back.

Harry and Draco had bumped into each other once without anyone else about to overhear their confrontation. It was late at night, about ten minutes before curfew, and both of them had decided to walk the school grounds for a while. Upon seeing each other, Draco had immediately sneered at Harry and made some unmemorable insult towards him and his House. Not being able to stand not knowing anymore, Harry demanded that Draco tell him why he was so angry that Harry was a Gryffindor.

As it had turned out, Harry had hurt Draco's pride with his Sorting. Draco had already declared to anyone who dared asked that Harry would be either Slytherin or Ravenclaw; he had specifically said Harry would never be a Gryffindor. When Harry was Sorted into the Lions' Den it made Draco look like a fool, and thus Draco would hate him forever.

It was around mid-October when Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to have lunch in one of Hogwarts' numerous courtyards. The weather wasn't too cold and Harry had wanted to escape the crush of the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione were deeply engrossed in a conversation about books, much to Ron's annoyance. It was a nice day out, the kind of day Harry would have loved to spend in a tree with his mother's book enjoying the sunshine. A lot of students had opted to head to the courtyard for lunch, but the Gryffindor trio had found themselves a semi-quiet corner for themselves.

"I don't understand you two," Ron declared after listening to Harry and Hermione talk for a few minutes. "If the spells and potions are useless, then why bother learning them?"

Harry had leant Hermione his _106 Useless Potions _book and had just receive the companion book _106 Useless Spells_ by owl order from his favorite bookstore in France- since Flourish and Blotts hadn't had it. Hermione had found the books to be as interesting as Harry had, but Ron wasn't interested in books unless they were about Quidditch.

"They're not _really_ useless, Ronald," Hermione said. "It's more like they're uncommon or out of date. They wouldn't have been created if they were truly useless."

Hermione wasn't exactly Ron's favorite person since she apparently acted like an annoying know-it-all with no life outside of books. He didn't find Harry to be annoying because Harry 'at least did some other things besides read all the time, like play Quidditch and Wizard's Chess'. Hermione wasn't the least bit interested in Quidditch, so Ron saw no point in having her around. He only put up with her because she was Harry's friend. Hermione didn't really see the point in having Ron around since, to her, he was the equivalent of a stereotypical Muggle jock. She put up with him for the same reason Ron put up with her.

"I still don't see the point in learning them," Ron said.

"They are the basis of commonly used spells and potions today," Harry said before Hermione got the chance to annoy Ron further. "Take the spell _savoir__ revealios _for example. Also called the 'thought bubble charm', it makes the victims thoughts readable to all around because they materialize above their head in a thought bubble like a Muggle comic book. The spell is out of use today except by pranksters, because it makes obvious that you're reading the person's thoughts and anyone else in the area can also read them.

"It qualifies as a useless spell, but the idea behind it- mind reading- prompted the creation of Legilimency. But Legilimency doesn't read thoughts as they occur so much as forces out memories and it can be defended against with Occlumency. The Thought Bubble Charm cannot be defended against, and is better if you want to know what your target is thinking at that moment, not what they're overall motive is."

Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry in surprise once he finished speaking. Harry inwardly noted that this was probably the most either had ever heard him speak at once. "OK, that _kinda _makes sense," Ron said, trying to wrap his mind around all that Harry had just explained.

"I understand it," an unfamiliar female voice said. A small girl with short brown hair and hazel eyes wearing Gryffindor robes had approached sometime during Harry's speech.

"Hello, Leah," Hermione greeted the girl with a smile.

"'lo Hermione. Hi Harry."

Harry could vaguely remember Leah from the Sorting. She had been Sorted after him, so he hadn't really been paying attention, but he had seen her around the common room and in classes. She was a pretty quiet and quite unremarkable girl.

"Hullo," Harry said.

"Do you remember me at all?" Leah asked when she realized Harry wouldn't be saying anything else. "I wouldn't hold it against you if you didn't; it has been years after all."

Harry didn't really know what she was talking about and looked at her curiously until it dawned on him. "Leah? They same Leah from-"

"The orphanage. Yes. It's really been a while. Have you been well?"

Harry nodded. "How have you been?"

"Not terrible. After you left the other kids discovered I could do strange things as well. They started shunning me, as to be suspected. Over time though, they all started being adopted until I was the last left of the group from when you were there. They moved me to an orphanage in London about a year ago, I've been there every since. That is until Professor Sprout came with my Hogwarts' Letter. She was really nice when she told me I'm a witch. She said she'll even look into finding a Wizarding family to adopt me. For now I'm still at the orphanage, but I have high hopes that'll change soon. I was surprised when I heard stories about the hero Harry Potter, and when I saw you and put a face to the name, I was shocked to realize you were the quiet little boy from the orphanage that the others used to tease so much. Goes to show, you never know who you're sitting next to" Leah took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling. It's just really great seeing you again."

Harry smiled back. He remembered Leah from the orphanage. An unremarkable girl even back then, all he could recall was that she was a bit of a sheep. She went along with whatever Cindy and her gang told her to, so as not to be ostracized. She had been the only one to say good-bye to him when he had left. It was sad to hear that they eventually began to shun her as well, but what were the odds of two magical children in the same orphanage?

"What's this, Potter?" A voice, as familiar to Harry as his own, drawled. "Another fan? Seems Gryffindors just can't get enough of you."

"Draco," Harry said in a low voice, not entirely sure what kind of inflection he should be putting into the word. Draco stood there with Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle looking at Harry and his group of friends with evident distaste.

"I always thought you had more class than to associate with people like this. But I also thought you'd be a Slytherin, supposed I can't always be right."

Leah had stepped over to the side allowing Harry a clear view of his one time playmate. "What do you mean 'people like this'?" Harry asked, hoping Draco wouldn't say what he thought he was going to. Surely this little feud between them wasn't enough warrant Harry Draco's complete disrespect.

"You know what I mean: weasels and Mudbloods." The last word was barely out of Draco's mouth before Harry was pushing himself from a seated position and launching at the Malfoy. Their bodies collided and Draco fell to the ground with Harry on top of them. Briefly Harry paused to consider what was happening: he'd never initiated any type of altercation with Draco- verbal or physical, but Draco hadn't ever so blatantly disrespected Harry in such a way. Draco made a blind swing towards Harry and suddenly four years of martial arts training was completely forgotten and they were fist fighting the old fashion way.

Everything around them ceased to matter as they rolled around on the ground trying to gain an advantage over each other. Sounds and sights filtered out, until one particular voice cut through the mesh. "Draco. Harry. Stop."

Severus Snape only ever used that tone of voice when addressing them when he was particularly livid over something foolish they had done. That tone said 'obey me or you'll live to regret it'. It was ingrained into both Harry and Draco to listen to a command given in that tone. Instantly their fighting was forgotten and they backed away from each other.

"On your feet," Severus commanded. The boy's obeyed. "I have never been more appalled by the behavior of two students than I am right now. Rolling around on the ground like a couple of low-born heathens as if you have no home training in the world. Your mother would be ashamed. But since we all know that a fight was bound to break out between you two sooner or later, I must at least insist on you handling this with some class. I know your skill levels a well as you two do. If you're going to fight, then do it right."

Harry looked at Severus thoroughly cowed and somewhat surprised. Was he giving them permission to continue their fight? Apparently he was. "Wands," Severus demanded, holding out both his hands for the boys to hand over the aforementioned pieces of wood. Draco smirked and dug his wand out of his robe to hand over to his godfather. Harry was a bit more hesitant, but he wasn't about to back out now. He handed his wand over. "Make room," Severus ordered the group of students- and a few teachers- Harry hadn't realized were watching them. A circle formed around the edge of the courtyard with Harry and Draco standing in the middle. "When you're ready," Snape called.

Draco looked at Harry with one pale blond eyebrow raised, Harry barely had time to tweak the corner of his lips up in a half sort of smile before Draco was flying at him. Things fell into a familiar pattern of punches, kicks, blocks, throws, and falls after this. Draco right fist came flying towards Harry; Harry stepped out of range and shot up a hand to wrap around Draco's wrist knocking the blond off balance. Draco fell forward and slapped his palms to the ground, before using the gathered momentum to propel him back and out of range of Harry's incoming kick. Harry raised a leg in a round house kick; Draco dropped low and tried to swipe Harry's plant foot from beneath him. All the moves were practiced and precisely delivered. It was such a familiar thing to be fighting with Draco like this, it was almost like being back at Malfoy Manor training on the lawns. So easily they fell into their familiar game, Harry couldn't help but smile and when he saw the same gestured mirrored by Draco, he knew things were OK again.

It was an unspoken agreement for their fight to end in a draw, with both of them collapsing to the ground in fits of giggles. "I'm sorry, Harry," Draco said. "I was being a prat. Friends?"

"Friends," Harry agreed. They rolled towards each other and embraced.

"How touching," a voice called. The two boys looked up to Severus standing over them, sneer in place. "If you are quite done, twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter, for attacking a fellow student. Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy, for provoking the attack on said student. I will see you both in my office for detention tonight." He dropped their wands on the ground next to them. "Muggle fighting is strictly forbidden on Hogwarts grounds."

_I plant a heartful now: some seed  
At least is sure to strike,  
And yield- what you'll not pluck indeed,  
Not love, but, may be, like._

Making up with Draco was worth spending an evening scrubbing cauldrons without magic. Anything short of having to murder someone, to Harry, was worth it to have his playmate once again at his side. The problem came when he realized nothing he could do could make Draco and Ron get along, and while Draco didn't call Hermione a 'Mudblood' he still wasn't too eager to become friends with her either.

And thus Harry was reduced to bouncing between spending time with the Slytherins who had been his friends since childhood and spending time with the Gryffindors he was just starting to really get to know but really liked. Meanwhile he tried to mend bridges between the groups that had been burned before they were ever crossed.

The night of the Halloween Feast Harry walked to the Great Hall with the Slytherins and he was barely holding back a curse towards Pansy who was insulting Hermione. After a while, he decided that it was ok to curse at Pansy, since her behavior wasn't befit a lady and thus he needn't treat he like one. He called her on her actions, and by the time they reached dinner Parkinson had been thoroughly cowed. She sat at the end of the Slytherin table pouting with Daphne and Tracey, while Harry sat between Draco and Blaise listening to them banter. At first there had been some protest to Harry being allowed to sit with the snakes- mostly from Nott, Bulstrode, and some Seventh Years- but Draco had put his foot down, and the matter was dropped.

About half way through the meal, Professor Quirrell ran in screaming about a Troll in the dungeons. Harry got caught up in the hustle and bustle of the Slytherins being directed towards the Charms class, since their Common Room was in the dungeons with the Troll- something Dumbledore seemed to had conveniently forgotten when he ordered everyone to their Common Room; thank Merlin the Slytherins had Snape looking out for them. As the crowd pressed in around him, he heard his name being called. Ron was pressing his way towards Harry amidst all the Slytherins.

"Ron," Harry asked, "What's going on? Shouldn't you be heading in the opposite direction?"

"We can't find Hermione," Ron said.

"I saw Granger head towards the girls' lavatory," Tracey Davis spoke up. "Before lunch started. She looked pretty upset; she'd been walking behind us when Parkinson was badmouthing her. I don't think she heard the announcement."

"_Zut_!" [Damn!] Harry cursed in French, before fighting the crowd and heading towards the girls' lavatory.

"_A dis donc_!" [No translation available] Harry cursed again when he arrived at the bathroom and saw the Troll had Hermione cornered.

"Bloody hell." Ron's voice came from one side of Harry.

Draco let out a similar curse in Russian from Harry's other side.

"Don't just stand there," Blaise nudged Ron and Harry towards the bathroom. "Do something." With that prompting, Ron and Harry drew their wands. Ron cast a Levitation Charm, while Harry attempted a Stunner he had read about in one of his books, Draco ran to get a teacher, and Blaise just watched the scene with amusement. To do this day, Harry still wasn't entirely sure how they managed to do it, but by the time Draco returned with McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell the Troll had been knocked unconscious and Hermione was safe.

The Professors listened to Hermione's fabricated tale of Gryffindor foolery with horror and disappointment in their gazes. "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," McGonagall said to Hermione. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing their feast in their houses." Hermione left and McGonagall fixed her gaze on the four remaining students.

"Well, I say you were lucky," the Transfigurations professor intoned. "But not many first years could take on a full-grown mountain troll. Potter and Weasley each win Gryffindor five points. Five points to Slytherin as well to Mr. Zabini. Ten points to Mr. Malfoy for doing the smart thing and going to get a teacher. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

The four boys rushed out of the room and didn't speak until they were well down the hall. "Nice of Granger to take the fall for us, don't you think?" Blaise asked with a grin.

"We should have got way more than ten points," Ron complained.

"Five. You forgot the points Granger lost," Draco smirked. "Slytherin on the other hand got fifteen."

"Shut up you git." Ron growled defensively. "You guys didn't even do anything."

"Jealous, Weasel?"

"Shut up! The both of you!" Harry snapped. "You'd think this experience would have warranted at least a little respect between the two of you, but I guess not. If you two insist on behaving like children, then I'm going to treat you like children: if you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all. As it is, I won't speak to either of you until you at least learn to condone each other's existence."

"Harry," Ron and Draco groaned in unison, before shooting a glare at each other.

Harry glared at the both of them, before turning abruptly and striding off towards Gryffindor.

Later that year when the same group of students saved the Sorcerer's Stone, Ron and Draco still insisted on acting childish towards each other. Harry gave up on the two of them ever becoming friends.

_You'll look at least on love's remains,  
A grave's one violet:  
Your look? - that pays a thousand pains.  
What's death? You'll love me yet!_

_~Robert Browning_


	16. The Sorrow of Love

**UchiSays: **I bet this was the longest two weeks of your life (referring to the fact that I promised to update within two weeks, but ended up taking about a month, sorry). See, what had happened was (I hate things that start like that because it's usually a set up for a lame excuse or an outright lie) I had originally planned to skip the fourth year at this point, but then I realized that 2nd year would be like tres important (Franglais! love it) for Harry's relationship with the Malfoys, so I set about writing a second year chapter (what you see before you) but then I got frustrated about half way through it and kind just threw together a chapter ending (sorry)... so don't kill me if this chapter annoys (especially since I never got around to editing it), I promise the mext chapter will be better (maybe). So read and review and I'll love you forever after

**SideNote: **There's a long section written in Tipher in this chapter (Harry and Draco's secret written language in case you forgot what that is). It seriously took me nearly a half hour to get the Tipher part written, even though it's not that difficult of a language. So I was wondering, can any of you actually crack the code of Tipher. You've so far been presented with 2 examples of Tipher and their translations, so that should be all the clue you need. The first person who PMs me the correct code(?) get's Kudos the next chapter, and something special (I don't know what yet)

**SideNote2: **I've had a couple of people ask where I get the RR Cannon poems from, and it never occured to me to tell you all that RR Cannon is jsut another one of my handles (meaning I wrote the RR Cannon poems)... so now you know

**SideNotes3&4: **Though it doesn't directly affect this story, I would be forever grateful if you went to my page and did my poll. And how obvious is it that I'm pumped up on coffee and sugar right now? This is the longest, most ramblely random Author's Note I've ever writte.

~Itami

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**15. The Sorrow of Love**

_The brawling of a sparrow in the eaves,  
The brilliant moon and all the milky skies,  
And all the famous harmony of leaves,  
Had blotted out man's image and his cry._

It had taken over a half hour of stubborn silence, resentful glaring, ruthless bargaining, incessant twinkling, and annoying lemon drops for Harry's summer accommodations to be arranged. There was an outright refusal to go to the Dursleys, though Dumbledore admitted sending him there would have been pointless anyway since the magic that kept him safe lasted only as long as Harry called the place 'home', which he hadn't done in a long time. This statement was followed with the fact that Harry _did_ call Malfoy Manor home, so wouldn't it be best to send him there? Dumbledore didn't think so. The Headmaster wanted Harry to return to staying at the Weasley house, but this was not approved of by all parties present during the discussion (in other words, Draco and Lucius refused).

Of course the Malfoy men's opinions did not really matter since they technically were not supposed to be present at the meeting, if Harry had let slip that the meeting was taking place in a letter he'd sent to Narcissa it was purely accidental. It seemed the fact that according the Muggle Laws, Lucius was Harry's legal guardian did not matter when coupled with the fact the Wizarding world acknowledged Dumbledore as his Magical guardian.

It was after Harry finally voiced his opinion on the matter that a consensus was reached. Over the summer Harry's primary residence would be The Burrow, but he would be allowed to visit Malfoy Manor every other weekend. One of the Weasleys, it was decided to be Charlie since he was the only Weasley the Malfoys were willing to deal directly with, would take Harry side-along to an undisclosed meeting location and from there Harry would journey with one of the Malfoys to the Manor. It was set up like this, because Lucius had refused to allow his Floo system to be connected to the Burrow, and he'd refused to give the Appartation coordinates of the Manor to the Weasleys as well. It was also decided that Harry was to go to the Malfoy's for two days directly after the end of term in order to celebrate Draco's belated birthday, and that once a week Harry would be allowed to Port-Key by himself to his martial arts training location, it had taken five minutes of stubbornness to get Dumbledore to agree to that last part.

And thus went Harry's first summer as a Hogwarts student. In order to have more time for fun later in the summer, the first thing Harry did upon arrival at the Weasley home- after two days of fun at the Malfoy's- was barricade himself in the room he shared with Ron and finished all his summer assignments. Ron thought he was nutters for actually doing his homework so early, but Harry simply pointed out he would regret not doing it now when he had to rush through it later. The letters he received from Hermione said pretty much the same thing.

The beginning of the summer passed quickly, and before Harry knew it; it was the end of July and his twelfth birthday. Mrs. Weasley saw fit to start his birthday off with a huge breakfast, containing more food than anyone could eat in a life time. Harry was given the day to laze around and later that evening he got to open presents. Mrs. Weasley had knitted him a pair of socks, Ron had got him some chocolate frogs, the twins gifted him with a supply of Zonko's pranks, Hermione sent him a book on obscure Charms, Charlie had gotten him a pair of dragon hide gloves, and the rest of the Weasleys gave him various other gifts.

Harry was disappointed about spending another birthday away from the Malfoys- the Weasleys were not going to fall for the same trick as last year- but he was somewhat appeased when three owls arrived baring gifts from his adopted family. Lucius' gift was a letter saying that he would receive his real present the next time they saw each other in person. Narcissa had sent him a new set of robes and another blue book. He saved Draco's gift for last. It was a small box wrapped in emerald green wrapping paper, and tied with a silver ribbon. Ron sneered at the Slytherin colors, but Harry knew Draco had chosen these colors not for Slytherin, but because they had been Harry's favorite colors every since he was small.

Carefully unwrapping the box, Harry opened it to find a small glass orb nestled within silk packing. The orb was no bigger than Harry's fist and strange silvery liquid swirled within it. Harry looked closely at the liquid, and let out a surprised breath when the liquid began to show images of him and Draco at different points of their childhood. Harry smiled as he saw images of the first time he'd ridden a broom with Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa, he chuckled at the sight of him and Draco playing hide and seek in the maze garden and being chased by the albino peacocks, there was visuals of Draco and him curled up together in one of their beds, there was even an image of the two of them bathing together and painting each other with the bath potions.

Draco had gotten him a Remembour. A cross between a Rememberall and a penseive, the little glass orb stored and displayed precious memories, and was said to always show you what was most important in your life. In the box where Harry had taken the Memory Keeper from was a folded piece of paper. Harry gently returned the orb to it's box and took out the paper.

"24-ll-ll-2-25 18-9-7-19-23-26-2-19 28-9-9-2!-13 22-5-22-9-W 20-22-7-6 9 14 2-25 12-2-19"

"What's all that nonsense?" Ron asked reading over Harry's shoulder.

Charlie peered down at the message and smiled. "It's Tipher, right?" he asked, remembering Draco's message from the previous summer. Harry nodded. "What's it say?"

"Harry birthday Harry! Never 4-get U R my boy." [AN: literal translation]

"Oh, that's sweet," Mrs. Weasley said. "And is that a Remembour? Expensive gift don't you think."

Harry just smiled and packed all his gifts away. "I think I'll head up to bed early," he said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Harry, pleasant dreams." The rest of the Weasleys took Charlie's lead and said goodnight as Harry headed upstairs. He wasn't really tired yet, but he'd wanted some time to himself. He carefully packed all the presents he had received into one of his trunks, all but the Remembour that is, and changed into his pajamas. He sat on his bed with Draco's ice blue blanket draped over his shoulders, they had decided not to trade back blankets, and the glass orb Remembour held in the palms of his cupped hands.

He watched a memory of him and Draco ice skating on the lake on the Malfoy's property, and couldn't help but miss being at the Manor. True, he did get to spend every other weekend there, but it wasn't the same as living with the Malfoys. He missed having lessons with Lucius and long talks with Narcissa. He missed Draco sneaking into his room at night and curling up in the bed with him. He missed barricading himself in the Malfoy Library and becoming so completely lost in whatever he was reading, that they had to send a search party to drag him down to dinner. He missed play fighting with Draco, having debates with Lucius, and silent walks with Ma-cissa. There was a lot of memories left for him to make with the Malfoys, but he couldn't make those memories if he only saw them twice a month.

"Harry Potter, sir!" A loud 'pop' pulled Harry from his thoughts, and he turned in surprise to see Dobby standing in the middle of the room Harry shared with Ron.

"Dobby? What are you doing here." Harry asked the house elf.

"Dobby has come protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door for this-"

"What are you talking about, Dobby? You know you're not allowed to punish yourself anymore; Ma-cissa told you that years ago when I told her I didn't like how you were treated. Now what are you doing here?"

"Harry Potter is so valiant and bold. He has braved so many dangers already."

"Dobby, get to the point." Harry had learned long ago the best way to deal with Dobby was to be short and firm with him.

"Right. Dobby must warn, Harry Potter... _Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts_."

"What are you talking about, Dobby? Of course I must return to Hogwarts; it's my school."

"No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger."

"Why?" said Harry in surprise.

"There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!"

"What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's plotting them? I may not be living at Malfoy Manor right now, but I an still part of the family, and you still take orders from me. Stop being cryptic and tell me what's going on!"

Dobby seemed hesitant to answer, but Lucius had told the elf years ago that Harry was to be treated as a member of the family, and until that order was revoked Dobby was obligated to do as Harry said. "It's Lord Malfoy, sir," Dobby said softly. "It is he who plots."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Dobby," he said, "you should know by now; Lucius would never do anything to intentionally hurt me. Whatever he is so-called plotting, cannot be too dangerous. I understand your worry, Dobby, but it is for naught. Now return to the Manor, and I will see you when I visit next weekend."

"Dobby only wanted to help. Harry Potter is much too important to risk." With a 'pop' Dobby was gone.

_A girl arose that had red mournful lips  
And seemed the greatness of the world in tear,  
Doomed like Odysseus and the labouring ships  
And proud as Priam murdered with his peers;_

Hogwarts letters came Wednesday August twelfth; Harry owled Draco informing them that they should arrange to be in Diagon Alley on the following Wednesday. Unfortunately school shopping wasn't nearly as fun as the previous year, considering Harry had gone with all of the Weasleys and then met up with Hermione and her parents, they had bumped into Hagrid who mentioned seeing the Malfoys in Knockturn Alley, and Harry had to listen to Arthur and Hagrid badmouth his adopted family- they seemed to have forgotten Harry's relationship with the Malfoy's. Things got even worst when they went to Flourish and Blotts to pick up their school books and Harry ended up being haggled by none other than the insufferable Gilderoy Lockhart. It took all the self control instilled into him by years of studying under Narcissa Malfoy to keep Harry from calling Lockhart a self-absorbed crock, with more ego than brains, and horrible writing skills- Harry had read a couple of Lockhart's books a few years ago and he'd thought them overall to be the poorly written ramblings of a man who loved to hear himself speak and that they were not worthy of being called literature.

He wondered if he could press charges against the annoying man for dragging him against his will into a photo shoot. Of course that thought went out of his head as soon as he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. "_Famous _Harry Potter," Draco said with the special grin he only showed to Harry, anyone else would mistake it for a sneer, but Harry knew better. "Can't even go into a _bookshop_ without making front page."

Harry knew Draco was only teasing him, but unfortunately Ginny didn't, and before Harry got the chance to say anything the youngest Weasley decided it time to find her voice- she still wasn't able to form a coherent sentence when around Harry."Leave him alone, he didn't want all of that!" She was glaring at Draco.

"Harry, you've got yourself a _girlfriend_!" drawled Draco, Harry could still pick up on Draco's good-natured teasing tone, but Ginny didn't know the blond as well as Harry. She blushed a a fierce scarlet, and Harry suddenly wished the Weasley girl _hadn't_ gotten over her fear of speaking in front of him.

Hermione and Ron were pushing their way through the crowd, both clutching a stack of Lockhart's books. "Oh, its you," said Ron, looking at Draco as if he was something unpleasant. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?" Harry hadn't informed any of the Weasleys that he'd sent Draco the date of when they'd be visiting Diagon Alley.

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley." retorted Draco, he wasn't teasing anymore and Harry could practically feel his genuine dislike of Ron thickening the air. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all of these."

"Draco," Harry hissed in a warning tone.

Draco sighed and shot a glare at Ron, before turning to Harry- he at least tried to be civil towards the Weasleys in order to appease Harry, but Ron wasn't so courteous.

"Shut your trap, Malfoy!" the red head yelled.

"Ron," Harry hissed in the same warning tone he used on Draco; he should have known Ron wouldn't pick up on the warning. Thankfully Draco had received the same self control training as Harry.

"Harry," the Malfoy heir said, completely ignoring Ron's comment, "Guess what I've finally convinced Father to get for you?" He snapped his fingers twice and made a quick sign in ASL.

"Really?" Harry asked excitedly. Draco had just signed the word snake- which was also the same sign they used to say Slytherin, but that obviously wouldn't make sense in context. Draco had been trying to convince Lucius to buy Harry a snake for years, every since it was first discovered he was a Parselmouth.

"That's why he couldn't owl you your birthday present."

"Ron!" Harry's reply was cut off by the arrival of Mr. Weasley and the twins. And as if the fates decided they needed a bit of entertainment, Lucius had found them at the same time and the two patriarchs immediately engaged in some not so friendly banter.

Harry had expected the verbal spat, but he was not expecting Arthur to physically attack Lucius. Chaos ensued, and when the two wizards were finally separated, Harry found himself in an awkward position. It was practically habit that made Harry begin to follow the Malfoys out of the store, but then Ron called out asking him where he was going and Harry remembered that though the Malfoys were the ones he considered family, it was the Weasleys he was supposed to be with at the moment. Lucius and Draco paused in their retreat and turned to face Harry, Draco's eyes were asking 'aren't you coming' while Lucius was demanding 'make your choice'. On the other side, the Weasleys were looking at him expectantly. Harry looked between the two families, until Hagrid decided to make the decision for him and placed a large hand on Harry's shoulder to steer him towards the Weasleys. Harry glanced at the Malfoys in time to see Lucius exiting the store, and Draco shooting him a hurt look before following his father.

This disastrous shopping trip seemed to be the set up for the rest of Harry's school year. Between sealed platforms, flying cars, annoying first years, a vindictive/ unreasonable Draco, Gilderoy Lockhart, broken wands, detentions, blood-thirsty voices, death day parties, writings in the walls, petrified cats, and moaning ghosts Harry barely had the strength to do more than laugh at Ron accusation that Draco was the heir of Slytherin.

"What's so funny, mate?" Ron asked when Harry couldn't managed to stifle the giggles trying to take him over.

"Nothing, it's just Draco can't possibly be the heir of Slytherin."

"And why not?"

"Because I know the Malfoy family tree as well as any true-born Malfoy. They're descendants of Ravenclaw."

"They made you study the Malfoy family tree!" Ron asked as if insulted. "But you're a Potter!"

"They didn't _make _me do anything. I wanted to know all there was to know about the people I were beginning to consider family."

"You consider those evil gits your family? Why?"

"I don't know, Ron," Harry bit back with heavy amounts of sarcasm in his voice, "maybe because they took me from a bad situation and housed, clothed, and fed me. They taught me my true family history and gave me my basic magic education. Bought me my first toys and my first broom. Nursed me when I was sick, comforted me when I was upset, gave me love and affection that I had gotten from no one else. They took me to my first Professional Quidditch match, gave me my first birthday party and my first Christmas. Narcissa let me call her mother and cared about my problems. Lucius listened when I had something to say and never got angry when I disagreed with him on things. Draco stood up for me, protected me, and made me feel wanted. They gave me my first real home. You're right thought Ron, I have no reason to consider those evil, selfless, caring, understanding, gits to be my family."

"Look, Harry, I-"

"Oh, and so you know," Harry cut in, "there's more of a chance of _me_ being the heir of Slytherin than Draco."

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Simple, I'm a Parselmouth."

"You're a what!" Ron asked in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important."

"I think is pretty damn important to know the my best mate can talk to bloody snakes."

"Why?" Harry snapped. "Does that somehow change your view of me? Does my being able to talk to snakes make me any different from the Harry you already know? Does that somehow make me evil?"

"No," Hermione answered before Ron could make a fool of himself, "but that look does. Merlin, Harry, where did you learn to _glare_ like that?"

The look on Harry's face softened as he grinned at Hermione. "You don't spend four years in the Malfoy house without learning a few things."

"Harry," Ron said slowly, "you're not the... the..."

"Heir of Slytherin?" Harry finished for him. "No, the Potters are descendants of Hufflepuff, thought they do cross with Gryffindor on a few occasion. I made an effort to learn _my_ family tree as well." The last part was an obvious jab at Ron.

"That's good to know," Ron said sheepishly.

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up from his seat. "I think I want to go take a walk. Don't wait up." He grabbed his invisibility cloak and Remembour, both of which he'd taken to carrying around in his school bag, and headed out of the Common Room, ignoring the calls of Ron and Hermione behind him.

Harry wondered aimlessly around the school for a while, not really paying much attention to where he was going. Some kind of way he ended up down in the kitchens, the location of which he'd found by reading the original floor plans of Hogwarts and taking a guess on how to enter. The house elves in the kitchen were eager to set him up with a plate of treacle tart and pumpkin juice. Sitting in a back corner of the kitchens, picking absently at his food, Harry stared into the swirling silver depths of the Remembour and watched different memories of his years with the Malfoys. Harry tried to pretend he wasn't feeling at least a little bit depressed over the fact that Draco still wasn't speaking to him for anything other than hurling insults. It was conversations like the one he'd just had with Ron that made Harry miss his playmate terribly. Ron was cool and all, but he just isn't a substitute for Draco.

"Hey I remember that," a voice said from behind Harry, startlingly him out of his thoughts. "It was your ninth birthday, wasn't it?" Daphne Greengrass asked. "To this day, I still don't see how you convinced the Malfoy's to let you have your party at a Muggle amusement park."

Harry smiled, remembering how much work it was to convince the pure-blood supremacist Malfoys to consent to that particular outing. "I simply reminded them that my mother was Muggle-born, and thus the Muggle world was part of my heritage."

"And us pure-bloods put a lot of emphasis on heritage," Tracey Davis said, taking a seat next to Harry; Daphne sat down across from the two of them.

"A lot of us pure-bloods had no idea what to expect that day, but it so much fun," Daphne grinned nostalgically.

"Our parents nearly had heart-attacks when we asked to go on the roller coaster." Tracey chuckled.

"Blaise called them all a bunch of cowards and pointed out that if Wizards really are the superior race, then there was nothing the Muggle could make that could harm us."

Harry smiled. "Lucius rode it three times, and would have gone more if Draco had anything to say about it."

"Remember when Pansy discovered the cotton candy."

"I swear the girl couldn't sit still for days afterward."

"My favorite part was the bumper boats," another voice said from behind them. Harry turned and found Draco, Blaise, and Pansy all standing there watching the three at the table.

"You mean your favorite part was accidentally on purpose making Nott's and Bulstrode's bumper boat tip over," Blaise said, nudging Draco's shoulder.

"Revenge for them bumping me and Harry under the waterfall. Besides, it was mostly Harry's doing."

"Yeah, whatever, but we all know the best part of that day was the cotton candy," Pansy said, strolling over and sitting next to Daphne. "What else you got in there, Harry?" she asked, leaning closer to the Remembour, just as the image shifted to show a different memory.

"Is that the Tokyo trip?" Blaise asked, peering closer at the memory of a large hotel room that looked as if a tornado had went through it.

"Oh Merlin," Tracey groaned. "That is why they don't give six kids a private suite of rooms with unlimited access to room service." The Tokyo Trip had been during the winter Harry was eight. Lucius had some business with the Japanese magic community, and had decided since they had gotten such a good report from their tutors, Harry and Draco could each invite two friends and go with him to Tokyo. Lucius had been busy during most of the trip, and Narcissa had chosen not to attend, so it pretty much left the six of them to entertain themselves. Lucius never made that mistake again.

"Speaking of Japan," Daphne said, "I just got a new shipment of yaoi in if anyone is interested." Draco and Blaise visibly shuddered at the mention of yaoi; only Harry and the girls were interested in reading about two guys buggering each other senseless.

Blaise let out a pained groan. "Next memory please." The next half hour went to them watching different memories in the Remembour and laughing at all their past shenanigans. The house elves had served them all snacks and juices and time seemed to escape them as they reminisced.

"There you are!" A stern voice said, cutting their laughter off short. "Do you have any idea how long I been searching for you?" Professor Snape snapped. "It's over an hour after curfew and the prefects informed me you hadn't returned to the dorm."

"We're sorry Professor," Pansy said. "The upperclassmen were having a discussion and kicked everyone below fourth year out of the common room. We came down here for a snack and just lost track of time."

"That's no excuse, Ms. Parkinson. I was five minutes from having to inform the headmaster that half of my second year Slytherins were missing. Five points each for being out after curfew, now you have thirty seconds to get to the dorm before I give you all detention. That includes you as well, Mr. Potter. I assume your little friends have covered for you since McGonagall hasn't sent out a search party for you yet, but who knows how long it will take for them to get worried about their precious golden boy and do something stupid, like go looking for you."

"Right," Harry said sullenly. Harry got up and made his way towards the door.

"Harry, wait!" someone called to him. Harry turned and locked eyes with a slightly pink Draco Malfoy. Draco snapped his fingers twice 'You, me, friends?' he signed.

Harry smiled and nodded. 'You, me, friends." he signed back. Draco smile boldly at him, before replacing his Malfoy mask and rushing out of the kitchen.

The rest of the school year went by in a blur of events. Harry won the first Quidditch match of the year against the Slytherins, only to be attacked by a rogue bludger afterward. The fool Lockhart completely vanished the bones in Harry's arm, confining him to the hospital wing for the night. Dobby made a reappearance and Harry had to specifically order him to _stop_ trying to help him. Harry's first year shadow, Colin Creevey somehow ended up petrified. A dueling club was started, only for the disastrous first meeting end up revealing to the whole school that Harry was a Parselmouth- Theodore Nott summoned the serpent at the meeting. Another student, and the Gryffindor house ghost as well, got petrified. Harry spent Christmas bouncing between the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms. Harry and Ron found a blank diary belonging to someone named T.M. Riddle. Ginny Weasley sent Harry a rather embarrassing singing Valentine, and Harry figured out how to work Riddle's diary and learned about Hagrid's connection the the Chamber of Secrets opening fifty years ago. Two more students, this time including Hermione, were petrified and there were talks of Dumbledore being removed as Headmaster, a letter to Lucius ensured this not happening, but it didn't stop Hagrid from being taken to Azkaban. Harry, Ron, Draco, and Blaise ended up being chased by Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest.

Ginny got taken into the Chamber of Secrets and Harry, Ron, and Draco ended up going down to save her- Draco tagging along only because he didn't want Harry to get hurt. Some kind of way the idiot Lockhart ended up going to the Chamber with them as well. It ended up being only Harry and Draco facing Riddle andthe basilisk due to the tunnel collapsing and blocking Ron's access. Draco got injured and blacked out a little before the basilisk bit Harry. Harry ended destroying the diary and Fawkes showed up in time to help them all leave.

After the obligatory hero worship meeting in McGonagall's office, Lucius showed up and Dumbledore truthfully blamed him for the diary falling into Ginny's possession.

"Headmaster," Harry said when the adults finished talking, "I will be spending the entire summer with the Malfoys this year, if that's ok with you."

"What? Harry, I don't think-"

"Lucius Malfoy, and none of the other Malfoys for that matter, would never do anything to intentionally hurt me," Harry cut in. "And besides, I wasn't asking permission; especially since you have no right to grant such permission."

"Harry, as your Magical Guardian-"

"_Magical_ guardian," Harry cut him off again. "Not legal guardian. You left me in the Muggle world with the Dursleys as my legal guardians. This made me subject to _Muggle_ laws. According to the Muggle laws, I was legally adopted by the Malfoys, making them my guardians. If you wanted to retain control over me as my magical guardian, you never should have left me with a Muggle family."

"But, Harry my boy, why would you want to stay with the Malfoys? Don't you like the Weasleys?"

"The Weasleys are great, but the Malfoys are my family. Besides, I would like to research something this summer and to do so I will need access to the Malfoy library. Do you have a problem with this?"

"I supposed there's nothing I can do about it."

"No, there's not," Harry agreed. "One more thing, Headmaster, a magical creature who is one of the only counters to basilisk venom and who can carry enough weight to remove a group of people from an enclosed environment, as well as carry at least one person into said enclosed environment chooses to bring weapons to aid in fighting instead of a better trained wizard to take over the fight. A dumb move on the creature's part, or a manipulation on the owner's part? The mind wonders."

_Arose, and on the instant clamorous eaves,  
A climbing moon upon an empty sky,  
And all that lamentation of the leaves,  
Could but compose man's image and his cry.  
~W.B. Yeats_


	17. The Division

**UchiSays: **What! Two updates in one month, surely UchiHime isn't the one writing this! (Again insulting myself for how long it takes for me to update). Ok, so this chapter is a bit different from all the other chapters of AS for two reasons: 1) it's not even 3 pages in Word, so its really short and 2) it's told from Draco's POV. Now there's a method to this madness, but you'll have to squint to find it so I'll just tell you here:

This chapter takes place the summer that out dear boys are 13 years old and are being attacked by hormones. Draco is just starting to realize that he feels things for Harry, but he doesn't know what those things are. In comes the Ego Defence Mechanism known as Reaction Formation (or as I like to call it, Pulling Pigtails). The purpose of this chapter is to put some tension between the boys. Officially, I'm not going to try to make them a couple until about the end of Fourth Year, but little Draco is an early developer and little Harry is obtuse.

**Enjoy!**

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**16. The Division**

_Rain on the windows, creaking doors,  
With blasts that besom the green,  
And I am here, and you are there,  
And a hundred miles between!_

Draco Malfoy was not happy. He swept through Malfoy Manor in a tizzy, snapping on unsuspecting house elves, slamming doors, and throwing things. His mother had already sat him down and told him that his behavior was unseemly and that he needed to find a better outlet for his anger. His father had pinned him with a glare and told him if he did not start acting in a way that befitted a Malfoy he would solely regret. And Harry? Harry hadn't done anything to try to soothe Draco's mood. Even though Harry was probably the only one who _could_ do something about his mood. But Harry was the reason for Draco's mood, because Harry wasn't around!

If Draco had thought having Harry stay at Malfoy Manor for the summer would give the two of them opportunity to act with the childish abandon they'd had during their pre-Hogwarts years, then Draco had thought wrong. The first thing Harry had done when he'd arrived at the Manor was hole himself up in his study and finished all his summer homework assignments. No big deal since Draco had done the same thing. But now their summer assignments had long been completed and what was Harry doing? Barricading himself in the Malfoy library and refusing to come out for anything other than dinner, trips to their martial arts teacher, chats with Draco's mother, and lessons with Draco's father. He _never_ came out to just spend time with Draco.

Draco only ever saw Harry when in the company of others. He turned down all of Draco's invitations to play Quidditch or walk the garden maze. It was a rare night that Harry dragged himself out of the library in order to go sleep in his room, barring Draco from being able to share his bed as they had done often as children. And the worst part? Harry refused to tell Draco what the bloody hell he was spending all his time researching!

Draco was furious, and Harry needed a reminder of his place in the Malfoy house.

_O were it but the weather, Dear,  
O were it but the miles  
That summed up all our severance,  
There might be room for smiles._

Draco stormed into the Malfoy library and slammed the door loudly behind him. "Harry James Potter!" he yelled, causing Harry to look up from where his nose was buried in a book hidden among the stacks on the table. "Outside! Now!"

"What?" Harry asked obviously confused about Draco's intrusion.

"You heard me, Potter! We're going outside right now!"

"Draco, I'm busy."

"_Ce m'est egal!_" [I don't care!] Draco yelled. "You've seemed t have forgotten, Potter, that you _belong_ to me. You were brought here as _my _playmate, for me to use as I please. You have _no_ choice in the matter. You do what _I_ say, when _I_ say it. You're _my_ boy, and I don't want to hear any complaints about it. Now get your arse up and go outside! I'm five seconds from committing homicide, so you have three seconds to get to the yard so I can work off my anger."

Harry shot a glare at Draco that was worthy of a true-born Malfoy, but Draco only glared back until Harry compiled to his wishes. And Harry _always_ compiled to Draco's wishes. He had no other choice. Harry stood from his seat at the table and headed out of the library. Draco could read the brunet's confusion and hurt in every move, but Draco did not care. Harry was _his_ playmate, so Draco could do with him whatever he wanted.

They had barely stepped foot on the grass of the Malfoy's backyard, before Draco swung a punch at Harry.

Harry barely managed to avoid the unexpected blow by dropping low under Draco's swinging arm, and sweeping a leg out in retaliation, attempting to knock Draco off balance.

Draco danced out of reach of Harry's leg and immediately let loose a barrage of punches once Harry was back on his feet.

Harry skillfully blocked every one of Draco's punches, slowly trying to back away from the attacking blond as he did so.

Draco persisted in his attack until Harry let one of Draco's punches slip pass his guard.

The feel of Draco's fist connecting with his jaw seemed to stun Harry for a second, before a new look of determination set in the younger boy's eyes. Instead of just blocking Draco's next punch, Harry shot out a hand and grabbed Draco's wrist. He shifted his weight in a way that made it obvious we was about to attempt to throw Draco over either his hip or shoulder.

Draco let his weight drop, making it impossible for Harry to complete the throw. His wrist slipped from Harry's grip and he quickly rolled out of Harry's attack range. Getting back to his feet, Draco shot a venomous glare at Harry, before raising his leg in a kick that could be hazardous if it connected with Harry's side.

Fortunately, Harry caught Draco's foot before it could connect and twisted it in a way that sent Draco spinning through the air and slamming hard against the ground.

Draco shot another glare at Harry as he got back to his feet and immediately let loose another barrage of punches of the Gryffindor.

Again, Harry skillfully blocked and dodged Draco's fist, until he saw an advantage and used his smaller size to slip in and deliver a blow to Draco's abdomen the could have easily shattered Draco's ribs if the brunet had put all his power behind it.

As it was, the blow just knocked the air from Draco's lungs and sent him falling to his butt in the grass.

Harry remained in a defensive pose as he met Draco's glare. Draco sneered at him, before finally casting his eyes down. He knew without looking that Harry had pivoted on his foot and was now walking away.

"I hate you!" Draco yelled after the retreating brunet, but even as he said it, he knew he didn't mean it.

Harry's steps faltered for a second, before the only Potter son stood up straight and continued his way back into the house.

_But that thwart thing betwixt us twain,  
Which nothing cleaves or clears,  
Is more than distance, Dear, or rain,  
And longer than the years!  
~Thomas Hardy_


	18. Farewell Ungrateful Traitor

**UchiSays:** Welcome to chapter 17 of Awkward Silence! Wow, I can't believe we've made it so far, and yet we still have a ways to go! I've been reading my reviews and I can't help but smile at all of the great comments, but what really gets me are the reviews from people who didn't start the strory way-back-when and just stumbled acrossed and now and are telling me how thay just read through every chapter and can't wait to read more and all that rot. If I can just get one good review from a new reader I feel as if I have accomplished something. But adding reviews from new readers to the ones from the faithful followers of this story, I feel as if... I cannot put into words how it makes me feel. You are all so amazing and you've made me proub to be a writer... but enough of this sentimental stuff that's for the last chapter and this story is _far_ from over!

In regards to this chapter: I chose the poem for this chapter with a completely different outcome in mind, but when I sat down to finish writing it last night, the story took and unprecedented change in direction, nothing bad just not what I meant to happen. This chapter is supposed to encompass all of the third book, but it doesn't do that. I covers about the first two weeks of their 3rd year and then just stops. I hate to have to say this, but where this chapters lets off I want you all to assume the rest of their 3rd year goes along with the cannon story (meaning the actual third book if you don't know what "cannon" means). Just disregard the parts in the third book where Draco is being an arse, and assume Draco aids them in their adventures and you have a pretty clear idea of how I would have written a proper 3rd year chapter.

Also, I unfortunately only own the first four Harry Potter books, so after fourth year I'll no longer have the means to properly cross-referecne the events of the books and my writings, that shouldn't really be a problem considering 5th will be about the time I all but completely drift away from cannon in order to portray the budding relationship between our two protaganist, but I just thought I'd let you guys know ahead of time so you'll know why there won't be any direct quotes and maybe a few cannon mistakes starting in the boy's 5th year.

Also, this has to be the LONGEST Author's Note I've ever written, wow! And I wonder how obvious my intended Major (I start college next fall) is in this chapter. Seriously, Harry is a well-read youth and he's studying things I didn't start studying until my final year of high school.

One last thing:

**UchiDedicates: **I really want to dedicate this chapter to Ranibow2malfoy, who is possibly my BIGGEST fan. Rani, you're amazing and your kind words are inspiration.

Also, if you haven't yet, I recommend you all read my four chapter fic "Three Lessons" because according to reviews, that is a story that will change you life.

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**17. "Farewell Ungrateful Traitor"**

_Farewell ungrateful traitor,  
Farewell my perjured swain,  
Let never injured creature  
Believe a man again.  
The pleasure of possessing  
Surpasses all expressing,  
But 'tis too short a blessing,  
And love too long a pain._

It had taken nearly the entire summer, repeated visits to bookstores in France, owls back and forward to shops in Knockturn Alley, and tireless searching, but Harry had finally found what he was looking for. After the incident with the journal his second year, Harry had become interested in what could make inanimate objects into sentient beings. None of the basic life animation and astral guardian spells could have quite the same effect of whatever spell had been used of Riddle's diary, so Harry had assumed Dark Magic was in play. The research had been tedious but rewarding. He had gone through and researched various other options and added a lot of interesting spells in things that couldn't exactly be called light to his repertoire. Finally, he had found the most likely answer to the diary conundrum.

He had stumbled onto the information of Horcruces entirely by accident, but after taking a deeper look into the subject, Harry realized that Riddle's diary was most definitely a Horcrux. He had only just reached that conclusion when Draco had come storming into the library.

Thinking about it later from a more impersonal perspective, Harry realized that Draco probably had right to be angry with him. Harry had come to stay at the Manor on the more permanent basis that had been denied to them the previous summer. Draco had probably had ideas of them spending time together like in their childhood and was most like disappointed when Harry hadn't searched out his company. Draco hadn't played the "I own you" card in years and that should have been the first sign that Draco's emotions were on the fritz and that there was most likely a better way to deal with the blond than outright fighting. But Harry had been in a hurry to get back to his research and he could now admit to himself that he hadn't been thinking logically at the time and had disregarded Draco's feelings.

The only part of the incident that had made an impact on Harry at the time it had actually happened was Draco's declaration of hate; that had been painful, but Harry had decided to push it out of his mind and focus on his research instead.

And so the summer went, Harry continued spending all this time in the Malfoy library researching Horcruces under the belief that if Voldemort had made one, he'd most likely made more. He wanted to know everything there was to know about Horcruces and what their existence could possibly mean for the inevitable return of the Dark Lord. He wanted to learn preventative methods to forestall the return, and if that wasn't possible he researched methods of keeping his love ones safe. He stumbled across the topic of Fidelis Charms and spent an entire week dissecting them. While doing all of this, he avoided thinking about Draco and the rift their fight had caused. And Draco just ignored Harry all together.

They ended up going to Paris for their school shopping that year, which was fine with Harry since he'd wanted to stop by his favorite bookstore and pick up a few things anyway. Narcissa had known without being told that Harry didn't want a huge party for his birthday, so they had a nice family dinner in the formal dining room after which Harry had opened his presents, thanked them, and returned to the library. He ignored the fact that he hadn't received anything from Draco.

In the midst of all of this, Harry had to deal with the information Lucius had given to him about Sirius Black and his escape from Azkaban. Harry wasn't really worried about Black harming him since Lucius had stated he had no recollection of Sirius Black ever being a Death Eater, and Narcissa had pointed out the Sirius was her cousin and he had been disowned by the family because his no interest in the Dark Arts, his Sorting into Gryffindor, and his friendship with Harry's father.

By the time September first rolled around and they were heading to Platform 9 ¾ to journey back to Hogwarts, Harry had finished he research, but he and Draco had yet to make up.

The moment they reached the platform, Draco called a goodbye to his parents, shot a glare at Harry, and boarded the train quickly. Narcissa hugged Harry goodbye and made a futile attempt at taming his hair, before smiling sadly at him. "Harry," she said, "I will not deny that you are a very intelligent boy, and anyone who meets you would agree. But, my son, you'll find yourself missing out on a world of opportunities if you do not make yourself heard."

"What are you trying to say, Ma-cissa?" Harry asked softly.

"Just that there is so much going on in that head of yours that Merlin only knows the impact you'll have if you just make yourself heard. If you don't learn anything else from me, learn that it's ok to cherish words, but words are made to be used, and if you want something done, you need to speak out and make yourself heard. Take these words to heart, my son, your mother knows what she is talking about."

Harry nodded slowly as he rolled the words around in his head and let their meaning sink in. "Yes, Ma-cissa, I will do my best."

"And that's all I can ask. Now don't let Draco get you down, have a great school year and write to me often."

"Yes Mother," Harry said, earning himself a large smile and another hug.

"You've never just called me Mother," Narcissa said. "Always Mother Narcissa and Ma-cissa, I like just being Mother."

Harry smiled and gave Narcissa another squeeze just as the train whistled. "_Au revoir__, __maman.__" _[Goodbye, mother]

"_Au __revoir__, mon __fil." _[Goodbye my son.]

Harry sent a goodbye to Lucius and boarded the train, where he was immediately pounced on by Ron and Hermione.

"Harry, where were you all summer, I must have sent you a million owls, and I know Ron sent a million more, and I only ever got one reply!"

Harry blushed and smiled sheepishly. "I, uh..."

"They weren't screening your owls were they!" Ron demanded as they searched the train for an empty compartment.

"Of course not," Harry said immediately jumping to his family's defense. "They would never do that."

"Then why didn't you answer our owls," Ron asked.

"Because I barricaded myself in the library in order to do some research and only came out long enough to eat dinner and run back in."

Ron seemed incapable of comprehending the fact that someone would actually want to spend their summer in a library. "Why would you do something like that? They weren't making you learn the Dark Arts were they?" He asked opening the last train compartment and finding only one person inside, all the rest they had passed were full. Whoever the man sitting in the corner was, he was fast asleep so they assumed it was ok to sit with him.

Harry shot a glare at Ron and pushed passed him into the compartment. "No, they weren't. Why do you insist on antagonizing them, Ron? The Malfoys are good people."

"No they're not, they're evil. Everyone knows Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater and Draco is a Death Eater in training, and you spend so much time with them, they're going to turn to evil, too."

"Don't talk to me about good and evil, Ron, because I can tell you things that would turn everything you believe in on its side." Harry snapped, suddenly wondering why he put up with Ron. But with Draco not talking to him right now and all his other friends being Slytherins, Ron and Hermione were all he had. Hermione wasn't so bad, but Ron could get annoying.

"Really? Like what?"

Harry thought about what Ma-cissa had said about him speaking up more and decided there was no time like the present to take her advice. Narcissa had never led him wrong before, and it really wouldn't be a waste it words if he was educating the ignorant. "Like the fact that there is no Light and Dark, only intentions. Like the fact that the 'Darkest' spell of them all, _Avada Kedavra,_ was originally created for euthanasia."

"What does the Killing Curse have to do with kids in China?"

"Not 'youth in Asia', Ron, 'euthanasia'; euthanize, a mercy killing," Hermione said.

"What?" Ron asked confused.

"For Merlin's sake, Ronald, don't you know anything? Well I suppose with the advances in magical medicine there's been little use for euthanasia in the last century, but there used to be a time when people would contract illnesses that the doctors/Healers couldn't find a way to cure. The illness would get so bad and caused the patient so much pain, that it would do more harm than good to try to keep them alive. Doctors would euthanize the patient to put them out of their misery. That way they passed on peacefully without all the pain of their illness robbing their life. Nowadays it has become an obsolete practice due to medical advances, and when it is practiced there is a question of ethics."

"OK, but what does that have to do with the Killing Curse?"

"The Killing Curse was initially used by Healers and Medi-wizards to euthanize patients that were in a lot of pain, but they had no chance of curing," Harry said slowly as if explaining basic addition to a child. "It wasn't until someone realized that they could use the Curse for malicious dealings that it began to be considered dark. Now it's considered the Darkest Curse of all time, when it was originally created to help people. Ironic, isn't it. There's a Muggle saying that goes 'the road to hell if paved with good intentions'. Every aspect of magic is about intent, that's why non-verbal and wandless Magic is possible. So don't try to tell me Draco and the rest of the Malfoys are 'Dark', because there is no Light or Dark, only intentions. And Draco does not intend to hurt me or anyone else, neither does his family. So go take your bigotry and shove it."

Ron looked as if he'd just been slapped, then decided to change the conversation. "Who d'you reckon he is?" he asked, gesturing towards the man sleeping by the window, he had already taken the seat as far from the man as possible.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione answered immediately. Harry wondered why that name sounded so familiar.

"How d'you know that?"

"It's on his case," she replied, pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of knotted string.

"Wonder what he teaches?" said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"That's obvious," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry tuned out the rest of their conversation and took a book out of his ever present satchel to read. When they had gone to Paris for school supplies, Harry's favorite bookstore had had a display of Muggle Psychology books and Harry had bought a few. He found the topic fascinating and was now reading about the theories of the Neo-Freudians. He had just made it to the section of his book about Karen Horney's (a.n. pronounced horn-eye, not horny you pervs) theory of basic anxiety, the feeling of being isolated and helpless in a hostile world, when the plump witch with the food cart arrived at the compartment door.

"D'you think we should wake him up?" Ron asked awkwardly, gesturing towards Professor Lupin. "He looks like he could do with some food."

Harry bought some cauldron cakes while Hermione tried to wake the professor, eventually the trolley witch just said she'd come back later. Harry returned to reading his book and had just gotten to Horney's theory of "womb envy" (and was disregarding it as only applying to Muggles since wizarding males could carry children) when the door to the compartment opened again.

Harry peered up and couldn't help but smile at seeing Draco standing in the doorway, but then Draco's glare reminded him that they weren't speaking and Harry's smile fell. He sighed and turned back to his book, opting to let Ron and Hermione deal with the Malfoy heir instead.

"Are you two fighting again?" Hermione asked once Draco had left.

Harry could only nod. "Since early this summer," he said. "It doesn't matter."

"Do you realize that this is the third year you've started Hogwarts without being on speaking terms with Malfoy?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged, he had noticed but hadn't thought much of it. "There's no such thing as a perfect friendship," he stated. "Draco and I have our ups and downs, but we'll always end up being friends again."

"Maybe all these ups and downs mean that your friendship isn't healthy and not worth fighting for."

Harry disregarded that the moment it was said. "Draco is my oldest and closest friend. Friends fight."

"Not nearly as much as the two of you, Mate," Ron stated.

Harry looked out the window of the compartment and sighed. "We didn't fight half this much before we came to Hogwarts."

"Maybe you're growing apart?" Hermione offered.

"Maybe that just means I have to fight harder to keep us together," Harry said back.

Hermione sighed this time. "Loyalty is never going to be your weakness is it?"

Harry just shrugged and smiled, before turning back to his book - he had reached an interesting section on Carl Jung's theory of the Anima and Animus (Anima= feminine qualities found in every male and Animus= masculine qualities found in all females).

"Why are we slowing down?" Hermione asked after a while. "We can't be at the school already."

Harry looked up from his book in curiosity, just in time for the lights to go out.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, Harry could hear him getting up and making towards the door of the compartment just in time to crash into someone trying to enter. Ginny and Neville had made their ways to them.

"Do you guys know what's happening?" Ginny asked.

"No," Ron said.

Professor Lupin "woke up" and ordered them all to be quiet... and then the dementor arrived.

Harry had learned about dementors during his lessons with Lucius, but he had never actually encountered one before. For some reason, he hadn't thought seeing a dementor would be so cold and depressing, as if he would never know true happiness again. He heard screaming from somewhere, then his mind went blank, and when he next opened his eyes, he was surrounded by the concerned faces of his friends.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked nervously.

Harry nodded dazed. What had happened? Had he fainted?

"Here," Professor Lupin said, extending a piece of chocolate towards him. "Eat it. It'll help."

Harry nodded and took the proffered sweet; Lucius had told them that chocolate was good after a dementor encounter. He took a bite into the chocolate and immediately felt better. Professor Lupin left the compartment and all of Harry's friends immediately started talking over each other about what had just happened.

Harry listened to them with half a mind, while using some of the mental strength he gained from martial arts training to organize his breathing, thoughts, and emotions. He was floating in a pool of inner peace by the time they arrived at the school.

_'Tis easy to deceive us  
In pity of your pain,  
But when we love you leave us  
To rail at you in vain.  
Before we have described it,  
There us no bliss beside it,  
But she that once has tried it  
Will never love again._

Harry rolled in a carriage with Ron and Hermione up to the school and was just about to step down when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"You _fainted, _Potter?" Draco said in what every one else would mistake as a delighted drawl, but Harry knew Draco better than every one else and he could hear the barely concealed concern within the question. "Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted_?"

Harry gave Draco a look that meant "I'm ok" at the same time as Ron said "Shove off, Malfoy."

Harry let the two of them goad each other, knowing that with Draco being mad at him at the moment there was nothing he could do to make the two of them behave. Professor Lupin came to the rescue and Harry gave a relieved sigh.

The group was just entering the castle when a voice called, "Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!" Harry and Hermione turned to see Professor McGonagall calling over the heads of the crowd. "There's no need to look so worried - I just want a word in my office," she told them. "Move along, Weasley." Then, without much further warning, she ushered them into her office and Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, came bustling in only to inform them that they were ok since Lupin had given them chocolate.

McGonagall reluctantly accepted the fact that Harry was ok and then turned to address both Harry and Hermione together. "I wanted to talk to the both of you about you schedules as well. Both of you have signed on for a surprising number of classes and I was wondering if you are willing to narrow down your selections."

Harry had known there would be problems with their schedules when he and Hermione had signed up for every class offered; he had already been considering what classes he was willing to give up in order to have a functional schedule.

"I'm willing to drop Muggle Studies and Divination. I would prefer to remain in Runes and Arithmancy, but Care for Magical Creatures is optional. I should be able to balance at least that many with my core classes."

"Well I don't want to drop _any_ of my classes," Hermione stated.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "I thought you might say that, Miss Granger, so we've already made arrangements. Are you familiar with what a Time Turner is?"

The conversation continued and in the end Hermione decided to take every class offered with the aid of a Time Turner and Harry had dropped a couple of classes and would use a Time Turner only when the occasional two class overlapped. He had learned about Time Turners from Lucius and wasn't quite fond of using one because the effects of prolonged use of a Time Turner could be very hazardous on the body since you were quite literally living through a single day multiple times without the proper rest your body needs to sustain such activity. With the way Hermione was going about it, she was squeezing about six or seven extra hours into her day, making her having to go through a thirty hour day with the rest needed to support only sixteen to eighteen hours. Harry on the other hand would only be extending his days one hour at the most and thus was in less danger of over-exertion. Of course Hermione didn't listen to neither him nor Professor McGonagall when they explained this.

They made it to the Great Hall in time for the feast, but unfortunately had missed the Sorting Ceremony. It was after Ron had pointed out Professor Snape's open hostility towards the new DADA professor did Harry finally realized why the man's name had sounded so familiar.

It was in the early years of Harry's stay with the Malfoys when Harry and Sev'rus had first started their friendship of sorts and Harry would ask Severus to tell him about his parents that Harry had originally heard the name Remus Lupin. Professor Lupin had been close friends with both Harry's mother and father, he had even been friends with Sev'rus for a while until he fell too deep in with James Potter. Harry knew that Severus was not a nice man - he was snarky, cynical, and bitter - but Harry trusted his opinion and Severus had very little good to say about Remus Lupin. This may have to do with the bitterness since they had been friends at one point, so Harry was willing to give the new teacher the benefit of the doubt and form his own opinion of the man through association.

And so the year began.

Harry had worked his schedule so that he was only two fewer classes than Hermione, but while she had ten classes a day, Harry on had five. The average schedule gave you three of four classes a day, depending on whether or not the class was double or normal. Harry's way of doing it made him have to do a lot of independent studying and one-on-one meetings with Professors, he would have to teach himself a lot of stuff, and give up his free periods and some of his weekend hours; it would be hard work and he would miss a few classes in order to go to others, but he was confidant he could make it work. Hermione was also confidant she could make her schedule work without having to miss any classes thanks to her Time Turner. Harry thought Hermione was being a fool.

After a week or so, Harry got into the swing of balancing his crazy class schedule, with doing his homework, spending time with friends, and even left room for Quidditch practice. It was late during the second week of school that Harry and Ron walked into their dorm room to find Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas snogging on Seamus' bed. For some reason this really bothered Ron.

"You don't have a problem with the fact that two of our dorm mates are shagging each other?" Ron asked later that evening when they were sitting in the Common Room working on homework with Hermione.

"First off, they're only thirteen so I doubt they're actually made it so far as shagging already," Harry said, remembering what Narcissa had told him about speaking up and making his opinion known; Harry had always taken everything Ma-cissa said to heart after all. "And second, I was raised as a Pure-blood Second Son, Ron, of course I don't have a problem with it."

"What? You mean they-"

"I told you Mr. Malfoy and Ma-cissa considered me a part of their family."

"But you're not part of their family. You're the _first_ son of the Potter line. They shouldn't have-"

"I still know what it takes to be head of the Potter family, but I also know how to be the Second Son of the Malfoy line."

"Would you two stop talking in code and tell me what's going on?" Hermione piped in looking up from her Arithmancy textbook and shooting a tired glare at the two of them.

"Sorry, Mione, we forget you're not Magic-raised. We're talking about the reason that Harry is ok with Dean and Seamus' is because he was raised to be a Pure-blood Second Son. It pretty much means he was raised to be gay."

"What? How does that work." Hermione asked, setting her textbook down in favor or what she thought would be a more interesting learning experience, because all the reading in the world couldn't inform her on all the mechanics and traditions of Wizarding Society.

"You must understand, Hermione, that homosexuality is more accepted in the Wizarding World, since two Wizards are capable of producing a child together," Harry started by saying. He had only spent a few years in the Muggle World, but he knew that many of them were bigoted against homosexuals.

"OK, but what does that have to do with being a second son of whatever?"

"Well in most old Pure-blood lines the first born son is raised as heir to the family," Harry explained. "From the time he is seven years of age he begins studying under his father to learn how to take over the family. Prior to age seven the child's education is under his mother where he learns decorum, propriety, and other key bits of socialization. At age seven, a First Son's lessons with his mother is all but completely cut off. It's different for females and sons that come after the First. Daughters are not allowed to take over their family unless there are no sons or other male relatives fit for the position. While Pure-blood First Sons begin lessons with their fathers at age seven, a Pure-blood Daughter's education remains strictly under the guidance of the mother."

"OK, that makes sense, a bit male-chauvinistic, but that's to be expected with Pure-bloods and their backwards ways. But what does that have to do with you, Harry?"

"I will get to that soon. Now the First-son's education centers around running the family, the Daughters' education goes to running a household and supporting her husband. The mother raises her daughters to be the ideal bride in Pure-blood society. The Pure-blood Second Son is not first in line to take over the family, he would only take over the line if the First Son dies or proves incapable. Because of this at age seven all Pure-blood Second Sons start lessons with their father while at the same time continues lessons with their mother.

"During lessons with their Father, the Second Son learns the basics of running the family in case it ever comes to them to take over as heir. It's unlikely that the Second Sons would actually ever become head of their family, so during lessons with their mother a Second Son follows the curriculum that a daughter is expected to learn: running a household, supporting their husband, and being the ideal bride. Pure-blood First Sons are expected to marry either a Daughter of another family or a Second Son. Daughters aim to marry First Sons, but sometimes settle for Second Sons. Second Sons are expected to marry First Sons, and rarely a Daughter. I was raised as a Second Son. I had lessons with Mr. Malfoy so I could know how to run a family, but most of my lessons were with Ma-cissa so I could learn to run a household. Suffice it to say, I was raised to be both heir and heiress. Or as Ron put it, I was raised to be gay since I was raised to be the ideal bride for a First Son."

Hermione seemed to take a minute to wrap her mind around this for a second, before giving a decisive nod and going back to her Arithmancy text. "Interesting," she said already scribbling down equations again.

"Interesting," Ron repeated, obviously dumbfounded. "Is that all you have to say?"

Hermione shrugged and shot a look at Ron. "Yes, that's all I have to say. What else is there to be said?"

Ron had no answer and Harry could only grin as he took out his own Arithmancy book and began working on his assignment.

The next day, Harry woke with a new resolve. He was going to make up with Draco. He was going to get his playmate back, and he knew just how he was going to go about doing it. It was Saturday and the weather outside was lovely, Harry was positive he would be able to find Draco outside near the lake on a day like this. Dressing quickly and with determination, Harry strode out of Gryffindor tower and out onto Hogwarts grounds.

Sure enough, he found Draco loitering about near the lake with only Blaise in company. Not letting his resolve waver for even a moment, Harry set a purposeful stride towards his oldest friends and called out to get Draco's attention. "Draco!"

Draco turned at the sound of his name and fixed his face into a sneer when he saw Harry approaching. Taking a deep breath, but not breaking his stride, Harry walked straight up to Draco and swung.

Draco hadn't been expecting the sudden punch, and if not for the reflexes ingrained into him by their fight instructor Harry's fist would have connected solidly with the side of his face and probably would have dislocated his jaw. As it was, it was almost on instinct that Draco moved his face out of range of Harry's fist and shot up and hand to grab Harry's wrist.

Harry immediately swung his other fist around trying to complete the job his first punch had failed at, but Draco had been expecting this and before Harry's fist could get anywhere near him, Draco had dropped beneath the strike and pulled Harry's captured wrist up behind him in a painful position.

Harry winced in pain, but kept his cool. The position Draco had twisted him into had put his palm facing upwards beneath the arm Draco was using to hold him. Harry immediately closed his palm as far as it would go, digging his fingertips into the nerves/pressure points Draco's forearm.

Draco let out a growl and released his whole on Harry. The two boys stood facing each other each one with eyes set in determination. They circled each other cautiously, like two wild animals sizing each other up, because that's exactly what they were. Usually they didn't need to size each other up since they already had a fair gauge of each other's power, and right now this circular movement was more of the opening steps in a dance known only to the two of them than anything else, they wanted to know who was going to move first.

Harry ended up being the one who did. He rushed Draco and released a fury of punches that Draco skillfully blocked, slowly trying to back away from the barrage of fists. Harry persisted in his attack until one of his punches slipped passed Draco's guard and connected with his face. A hungry look fixed itself in Draco's eyes when he felt the fist connect to his face and instead of just blocking Harry's next punch, he shot a hand up and grabbed the brunet's wrist, before dropping his weight in away that meant he was going to throw Harry over his hip or shoulder.

Harry dropped his own weight before the throw could be completed and his wrist slipped from Draco's hold, allowing him to be able to roll out of the blond's attack range. Getting back to his feet, Harry quickly raised his leg and shot out a kick that would have been hazardous if it had connected with Draco's side.

It was when Draco caught Harry's foot did Harry see realization dawn onto the blond. Draco understood what was going on. This fight they were having now was the exact same fight they'd had over the summer, only with Harry taking on the role Draco had played.

Draco's eyes locked with Harry's giving the brunet a questioning look; Harry only grinned back. Their eyes remained locked for a few seconds longer, before Draco released his hold on Harry's ankle and foot, allowing the brunet to return to an upright position.

Once more, they stood opposite each other. This time they bowed to each other respectably, and shifted into proper fighting stances.

Over the summer, Draco had been too driven by his emotions to fight properly. He'd made simple and foolish mistakes that Harry had taken advantage of in order to obtain his victory. Had Draco been fighting with a clear mind, he might have won that fight since Harry was already at a disadvantage due to lack of proper sleep from staying in the library so long.

Now that they both cleared their minds and gave the proper salutations, then the fight was on.

They were oblivious to the crowd of students and teachers that had surrounded them as they engaged in a fight that was more like deadly, yet intimate dance than anything else. In a blur of black and white-blond, the two moved together with a sensual grace that showed off the speed and flexibility of each boy. Kicks, punches, blocks, dodges, throws Harry and Draco became more deeply entwined with each other with each move they made. To all watching, it was almost impossible to tell where one stopped and the other began.

This was a fight between masters of their arts. Even the ones who had witnessed their fight first year were in awe of the skill these two young boys possessed. Fists corkscrewed out almost too fast for the eye to follow. Open-handed strikes slashed in lightning-speed combinations. Hook kicks, somersaults, knife-hand strikes, spinning back kicks, leaps, dives it was a deadly alluring dance that the spectators could not take their eyes off of. Harry and Draco were at the top of their form. They dealt blows with precision and speed. And yet, it was obvious to all watching that the two boys had no intentions of hurting each other. With very little effort, the two of them could do serious harm to one another, yet they pulled punches and softened kicks, their whole hearts were behind the attacks, but all their force wasn't.

And it was the very fact that they had enough control to strike without hurting that made them all the more dangerous.

And then, suddenly the fight was over. As if an unspoken message had passed between the two combatants, they were suddenly standing opposite one another once more and bowing respectably. Their eyes met while they were bowing and both couldn't help but grinning despite their breathless state.

It was then that the applause started. It had to be at least half the school gathered around watching the two of them and cheering like they were crazy making both Harry and Draco blush brilliant shades of scarlet. Pansy, Tracey, Blaise, and Daphne all had front row seats for the fray and ran towards their two friends, the girls carrying conjured bottles of water and towels for them.

"That was amazing!" Pansy exclaimed.

"You two were awesome!" Tracey added.

"It was WOW!" Daphne yelled.

"I'll never even dream of stealing your broom again, Harry," Blaise said with a grin. "Now Draco's not the only one who can beat me up." The entire crowd descended upon them at that moment.

"Harry!" Ron and the twins, along with Hermione and Ginny, made their way to the front of the crowd.

"Hey guys," Harry smiled sheepishly at his Gryffindor friends.

"I didn't know you could fight like that," Ron said. "I mean, I knew you could fight, but that was just-"

"You were nothing but a blur of-" one of the twins said, but the noise of the crowd got so loud that everyone seemed to drown each other out.

One voice did, however, make itself known over the roar of the crowd. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, what have I told you two about Muggle dueling?" There was a playful undertone in Severus' voice that only someone who knew him very well would recognize.

"Oh, c'mon, Uncle Sev," Draco groaned playfully, "let us have our moment."

"What's my name you brat?" Snape chided.

Harry elbowed Draco lightly in the side. "What he means is, we're very sorry Professor Snape, what time shall we meet you for detention?" Harry's tone was just as playful as the other two's, but the only ones who could possibly recognize the teasing nature of the conversation was probably the Slytherins who knew the nature of Snape's relationship with the two boys.

"Oh, Severus, don't be that way," another voice cut in. Snape's arrival had started the dispensing of the crowd, but Professor Lupin's coaxing finally made everyone return to their daily lives. "You boys are both quite the marital artists; you were amazing to watch."

"Thank you," Harry said with a smile. A movement out of the corner of his eye caused Harry to turn his head just in time to see a large black dog disappearing into the Forbidden Forest.

And so third year commenced.

_The passion you pretended  
Was only to obtain,  
But when the charm is ended  
The charmer you disdain.  
Your love by ours measure  
Till we have lost our treasure,  
But dying is a pleasure,  
When living is a pain._

_~John Dryden_


	19. Echo

**18. Echo**

_Come to me in silence of the night;  
Come in the speaking silence of a dream;  
Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright  
As sunlight on a stream; come back in tears,  
O memory, hope, love of finished years._

The thunderstorm had set in sudden and unexpectedly. Harry had woken from his sleep at the first sound of thunder and saw the rain coming down in heavy sheets outside his dorm window. He didn't even think before hopping out of bed and quickly dressing. Grabbing his invisibility cloak, he slipped silently passed his sleeping roommates and out of Gryffindor tower. It was one of the dead hours of night, well past the witching hour but still a ways to go until dawn. The entire school seemed to be at rest, not even a ghost drifted through the empty halls as Harry set course for the dungeons. The silence of the halls resonated with each step he took. It hummed with a loud nothingness in his ears.

Harry didn't like silence. He despised it really. There was a difference between the silence caused by a lack of spoken words and a silence caused by the lack of all sound. The former was comforting and Harry cherished it; the latter was frightening and Harry hated it. In absolute silence, everything seemed louder. Every breath, every step, it all pounded menacingly at his ear drums. Absolute silence left you with nothing to distract you from the loudness within your head, it made it so all you can do is listen to the thoughts crashing around your skull like waves against the coast. You hear too much in silence. You hear more than you'll ever want to.

When left alone in absolute silence, Harry always got the urge to scream.

It was only his desire not to get caught out after hours and the knowledge the it would be a meaningless task, that kept Harry from acting on his urge to scream. He was half way to the dungeons when he became aware of another set of footsteps sounding through the silent halls. Harry concealed himself within the shadows and waited silently to see who would pass. A flash of lightning outside a window at the end of the hall cast the corridor into a shadowy luminescent glow and illuminated the platinum blond hair of the boy making his way towards the Gryffindor tower.

Harry smiled and stepped out of the shadows he'd hid himself within. "Draco," he called softly pulling, off his invisibility cloak just as a roll of thunder sounded.

Draco visibly jumped in surprised, and whirled around to face Harry. "You startled me," he hissed softly when he recognized Harry. "What are you doing out here?"

"The same thing you are," Harry answered a bit sheepishly. "The thunderstorm," he didn't need to say anything else.

"I was on my way to find you," Draco stated. Harry's only response was to smile at him. "Well, what are we just standing here for? Come on," Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and pulled him into the nearest empty classroom. Less than two minutes later, they had transfigured pillows and blankets, and were sitting close to each other on the floor of the classroom. Harry listened as Draco filled the silence with idle chatter about the going-ons of the Slytherins and such. Lightning flashed, and Draco silenced himself, allowing Harry to take up the recitation of a poem.

"...and that is when I thrust you down, and stabbed you twice and twice again, because you dare take off your crown, and be a man like other men," Harry concluded Mary Coleridge's "Mortal Combat".

Draco smiled, then resumed his griping over how third year was going for him so far. As the night drew on and the two of the fell into their usual pattern of poetry and songs interspersed with Draco's idle chatter, Harry couldn't help but feeling a deep contentment at the familiarity of the whole situation. He wouldn't care if the rest of the world just faded from existence or everything just changed before his eyes, as long as he had thunderstorms with Draco, he could truly call himself happy. It had been a thunderstorm that had finally brought them together all those years ago, and with each thunderstorm the bond between them grew.

At some point during the night, the two of them must have fallen asleep, because the next thing Harry was aware of was waking to sunlight pouring into the classroom. He and Draco were lying on the floor among their transfigured blankets and pillows, with a cushioning charm softening the area. They both were lying on their sides, facing each other, Harry's arms were crisscrossed over his chest gripping opposite shoulders, his face was buried in the warmth provided by Draco's chest, Draco had an arm draped over Harry pulling him close, and their legs were completely entwined. Sometime during the night, the heating charms they'd cast had worn off, so they snuggled together for warmth. Harry's invisibility cloak was thrown half over them, hiding their torsos from view, but Harry didn't need to see in order to know how close he was being held to Draco, he could feel it throughout his whole body.

This wouldn't be the first time he'd woken wrapped in Draco's arms. Circadian rhythms dictated that your body would be at its coldest at around four in the morning, and at that point it was natural to move in search of warmth. The warmth of another's body is a million times more satisfying than what any blanket could offer. So, considering the hundreds of times they'd shared a bed during their childhood, Harry was quite used to waking up snuggled with Draco. The difference between all those times and now was that they were children back then, and the obvious something pressing against Harry thigh right now said that they could call themselves children no longer.

For a moment, Harry was confused. He had known, of course, that they couldn't stay children forever, but when had Draco grown up so much and why hadn't Harry grown up with him. Over the summer, Lucius had given Harry and Draco "The Talk". It wasn't as awkward and traumatizing as most kids would have you think, partly because Harry had known about sex for a long time (gay erotica at age six remember), but also because Lucius was clinical and straight to the point about the subject as if it was just another one of their lessons. Lucius had said that since they were both now teenagers, they should expect changes to go on with their bodies. Changes including strange dreams, unfamiliar urges, and erections. Lucius had said it was a natural part of growing up.

But Harry hadn't experienced any of these changes, and he had assumed Draco hadn't either because the two of them always went through everything together. But now the tell-tale sign that Draco was going through these changes was pushing against Harry's leg, and for some reason it made Harry feel ashamed of himself. Draco was growing up. He was becoming a man in every way, but Harry was still a child. He almost felt angry, because how dare Draco grow up without him, but he knew that the anger was completely unfounded and thus let it drift away as quickly as it had come. Draco had no say about when he would grow up and it wasn't his fault that Harry was obviously a late bloomer. Everyone grows up at a different rate, of course, but still...

Draco began to stir and Harry was suddenly aware of how awkward it would be for Draco to wake up in such a position, especially if he knew Harry was awake and aware of his condition. Deciding it would be best for both of them if Harry just pretended to be sleep when Draco woke, Harry quickly closed his eyes and evened out his breathing; feigning sleep was a skill easily mastered by children up past their bedtime after all.

But before Draco could fully wake and before Harry could fully slip into faux sleep, the door to the classroom they were in flew open and hurried footsteps could be heard entering the room. Harry and Draco both jumped awake quickly and turned to face the door. "Harry!" Harry had never heard Professor McGonagall sound so relieved. "Good heavens, boy, you gave us all a fright."

"Correction, Minerva," Professor Snape stepped around McGonagall with a small smirk on his face. "They gave _you_ a fright. I couldn't care less if Potter, in his own foolishness, allowed himself to be captured by a deranged ex-convict. Besides, I told you he would be found in one piece, did I not?"

"Yes, Severus, you did. But how did you know Black had not gotten him?"

"Simply, last night was a thunderstorm. I reckon Potter wasn't even in the dorm when Black arrived."

"Black?" Draco spoke up. "Did you say Sirius Black got into Harry's dorm last night."

"Regrettably," Professor McGonagall said. "Gave Mr. Weasley quite the fright actually. And when we could find you, Mr. Potter, the whole castle went on high alert."

"You thought Harry would let himself be captured by Sirius Black?" Draco asked as if that the the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "You underestimate Harry."

Harry jabbed Draco with his elbow and gave him a stern look that meant he was not to continue speaking to their teacher in such a way. Draco gave a sheepish smile and rubbed his side where Harry had jabbed him; Harry hoped he hadn't hit him with enough force to leave a bruise.

"Regardless of what I did or did not think, the two of you were out of your dorm rooms after curfew, which is both against the rules and foolish to do with situations as they are now. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin will be losing twenty house points and I expect the both of you to report to Mr. Filch for detention Saturday night. Now, Mr. Potter, if you would return to your dorm, I'm sure your friends would be more than happy to see you back alive."

_O dream how sweet, too sweet, too bitter sweet,  
Whose wakening should have been in paradise,  
Where souls brimfull love abide and meet;  
Where thirsting longing eyes watch the slow door  
That opening, letting in, lets out no more._

It was the Saturday after Ron was attacked by Sirius Black and Harry was standing in line to head out to Hogsmeade with the rest of the students (the Malfoys, being his legal guardians, had signed his Hogsmeade permission slip). Ron was standing next to Harry talking about all the candy he was going to buy at Honeydukes. Hermione was on Harry's other side mumbling to herself about what she needed from Hogsmeade and what assignments still needed doing from her overstuffed school schedule. Harry was only listening to Ron with one ear, as he scanned the crowd for a familiar head of platinum blond hair. He wrinkled his brow in confusion when he found Draco standing off to the side with the Ravenclaw Terry Boot.

"Think they're going on a date?" Hermione asked, looking in the same direction as Harry.

"What?"

"Malfoy and Boot, do you think they're going on a date?"

"Why would they be?"

"Didn't you hear? They got caught snogging in the Charms corridor two days ago?"

Harry looked at her in disbelief. Surely Hermione wasn't telling the truth, Draco would never get caught snogging anyone, because Draco didn't snog people. Seriously, Draco would never. "I think you need to validate your sources."

"Well, I heard it from Lavender, who heard it from Parvati, who heard it from Padma, who heard it from the Ravenclaw prefect who caught them."

"Hearsay is not a reliable source, even if Lavender and Parvati are the gossip queens of Gryffindor."

Hermione just shrugged and went back to reviewing everything she needed done before classes resumed on Monday. Harry sent another look towards Draco and Terry, before putting even the slightest idea that Hermione might have been telling the truth out of his mind and turning his attention to Ron.

There was obvious signs of tighter security around Hogsmeade since Dumbledore had been unable to persuade Harry into staying at the castle after the incident with Ron. Harry had told Dumbledore that he'd seen no real reason why he should fear Sirius Black and that if the criminal was really as dangerous as everyone said, he would have proven so by murdering Ron instead of running away. Even Professor Lupin had tried to convince him that staying at Hogwarts would be safer, but Harry wouldn't listen to Lupin because the man had not proven himself trustworthy.

Severus and the Malfoys had told Harry that Remus Lupin had been part of Harry's dad's close circle of friends, yet Lupin had never mentioned that to Harry. Even when the opportunity for him to do so had presented itself during Harry's Patronus lessons, Lupin had made it sound as if he had James Potter had been no more than passing acquaintances. Of course, Harry could understand why Lupin wouldn't want knowledge of his friendship with Sirius Black to get out, the Professor could at least have mentioned Black was Harry's godfather. Until Lupin proved he trusted Harry with the knowledge of his past friendships, Harry would not trust Lupin and the secrets he kept.

The Hogsmeade trip started off perfectly fine. Harry stuck with Ron the whole time even though he had planned to spend half the day with Draco. Harry had caught some passing glances at Draco, and each time he'd seen Terry Boot somewhere in close proximity to the blond. But Draco knew he and Harry were supposed to meet up at the Three Broomsticks for lunch, so Harry could only hope Draco kept his word.

Harry almost thought Draco had forgotten about him since Harry and Ron had finished lunch and were getting ready to move on to a different location when the blond finally came rushing into the restaurant.

"Harry," Draco called out in relief upon seeing that his playmate hadn't left yet. "Sorry I'm late. Terry and I were in Zonko's and we lost track of time. Before I realized it, it was time to meet you, but Terry had insisted I help him find his friends before I left and that took a bit of time."

Harry just stood watching blankly as Draco made his excuses. If he didn't know better, he would swear Draco was feeling guilty about something because the only time the blond ever bothered making excuses was when he knew he'd been doing something he wasn't supposed to. Draco was allowed to have friends other than Harry and he was allowed to spend time with them in Hogsmeade, so why was Draco trying so hard to excuse himself for hanging with Terry?

"Arrête," Harry said. "It's no big deal. You're here now. Ron and I were just about to head over to the Shrieking Shack. You coming with us?"

Harry was sure he saw faint traces of pink coloring Draco's cheeks as the blond nodded. "Sure."

Ron shot a glare at Draco, but Harry gave them both a look that meant that they were to at least try to get along, and the three of them set course for what was allegedly the most haunted spot in Britain.

"Even the Hogwarts ghost avoid it," Ron said. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick... he says he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but the entrances are sealed shut..."

"Did you see that?" Harry asked suddenly.

"See what?" Ron asked.

"I saw it," Draco stated.

"What?" Ron asked again.

"Someone was peering from behind the curtains." Draco stated.

"What? Really? Is that what you saw, Harry?"

Harry nodded, but kept his eyes locked on the window where he'd seen the person watching them. He wasn't surprised Ron hadn't seen it, the same way he wasn't surprised that Draco had. Harry and Draco had both been taught from a young age to pay attention to details. Within thirty seconds of arriving at the shack, the two of them had gauged how many windows and floors the building had, how many of those windows had curtains, how strong the breeze outside was and if it affected the curtains at all, and a plethora of other little details that could easily go missed by the causal observer.

"Do you think?" Draco didn't need to finish the question before Harry nodded. Yes, he thought it was Sirius Black.

"Let's get out of here." Ron declared.

Before either Harry of Draco could say anything, a barking sound drew their attention the the grounds of the Shack. A large black dog was standing near the side of the Shrieking Shack trying to get the group's attention. "I've seen that dog before." Harry and Draco said at the same time.

Harry didn't hesitate in scaling the gate around the Shack and taking off across the lawn. Draco was only half a step behind him, and Ron followed hesitantly only because he didn't want to be out done by a Slytherin.

"Where are you guys going?" Ron called.

"Obviously the dog wants us to follow it," Draco called back.

"What if it's a trap?" Ron asked, Harry could tell he was more than a little afraid.

"Of course it's a trap," Draco said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe it was only Ron's Gryffindor sensibility that made him aware they could be walking into a trap, but Draco and Harry both at Slytherin training that made them able to spot a trap a mile away.

"If we know it's a trap, then why are we falling into it."

"Because, Ron," Harry finally spoke, "we have nothing to fear."

"Nothing to fear?" Ron exclaimed. "What about a crazed mass murderer?"

"What Harry's mean is that we have no reason to fear Black. Hearsay is not a reliable source, even if the ones spreading the rumor in the Ministry."

None of them spoke again as the followed the dog around the side of the house and watched it seemingly disappear. "Where'd it go?" Ron asked, but Harry and Draco said nothing as they stepped into the tall grass where the dog had vanished. Hidden from all but those who were searching for it was an old cellar door only half cover by rotting wood. Draco and Harry grinned at each other as Ron stepped closer to see what they had found. "Please tell me we are not going down the dark, scary hole."

Both Draco and Harry drew their wands and called out _Lumos, _before stepping without fear into the 'dark, scary hole.'

There was a thick, musty, mildewy scent clinging to the inside of the Shrieking Shack. The building was in obvious disrepair, and Harry was just waiting for Ron to freak out from all the spiders crawling around. The dog that had led them there was waiting at the bottom of the cellar stairs and it gave out a happy sounding bark, before leading the boys further into the dark house. The dog lead them upstairs to the ground floor of the house and disappeared into a room at the end of the hallway.

"Guys, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"If you want to turn back, Weasley, do it now," Draco stated, before pushing open the door the dog had entered. Except, there was no dog inside the room that at one point had obviously been an office. Instead, there was a dark haired man, with a tired face, and jaded eyes sitting on top of the desk.

"Sirius Black?" Harry asked.

The man grinned wolfishly. "You've grown so much, Harry. A far cry from the one year old floating a foot off the ground on his first toy broomstick." The wolfish grin turned into a nostalgic smile and Harry hated to interrupt the man while he was obviously lost in what happy memories he could still find after being subject to dementors for so many years.

"Is there a point to this meeting, or did you just feel like reminiscing?" Draco asked before Harry could.

Sirius Black snapped back to the present with a sad smile. "Right. Harry, I need you to know that I didn't betray your parents. James was my best friend, more close to me than my own brother, I would never do anything to hurt him. And you're my godson, Harry, that alone makes you one of the most important people in my life."

Harry nodded in acceptance at this statement, before conjuring a chair and taking a seat. It was Malfoy training that he led him to conjuring himself a seat; a display of power beyond that of what should be expected of a third year that was to serve as a warning that Black should not underestimate him if this meeting was to take a turn for the worst. Draco copied what Harry had done, and Ron just perched on the arm of Harry's chair since the red head knew his own limitations.

"Care to share the real story of what transpired, then?" Draco asked.

Sirius sighed, then related the true events of that Halloween night so long ago.

_Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live  
My very life again though cold in death:  
Come back to me in dreams, that I may give  
Pulse for pulse, breath for breath: Speak low, lean low,  
As long ago, my love, how long ago._

_~Christina Rossetti_


	20. An Hour with Thee

**19.**__**An Hour with Thee**

_An hour with thee! When earliest day  
Dapples with gold the eastern grey,  
Oh, what can frame my mind to bear  
The toil and turmoil, cark and care,  
New griefs,which coming hours unfold,  
And sad remembrance of the old?  
One hour with thee._

Harry stood on the balcony of his bed-suite in Malfoy Manor, watching Hedwig descend lazily from the sky. "Hello, girl." He greeted the bird affectionately. Hedwig nipped gently on Harry's finger to portray her equal affection. Harry smiled and softly caressed the top of the owl's head. "I'm sure you must be tired from your flight. How about you rest up in the owlery and I'll visit you later with a treat." Hedwig gave Harry another affectionate nip, before extending her leg for him to take the letter tied to it. "Thank you, girl." Another nip,and Hedwig took to the sky again, heading towards the Malfoy owlery.

Harry smiled and sent one last look out over the Malfoy grounds—purposely avoiding looking towards the garden maze where Draco was entertaining company—and headed back into his bedroom. He stepped through the bedroom quickly, and settled down on a couch in his sitting room. Once comfortable, he opened the missive he'd just received.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry it took me so long to write you back, things have been hectic here in Romania as I tried to get all the loose ends tied up before I leave for the Burrow to see the Quidditch Cup with my family. As always, I was glad to hear from you and I wish I could have written back sooner. It seems you're going through a lot right now and I want to lend you as much support as I can. So, let's address each change in the order in which you wrote them:_

_WOW! Sirius Black is your godfather? I did not see that one coming. I cannot begin to say how worried I was about you when I learned that he had escaped. So I'm greatly relieved that all misunderstandings between the two of you have been reconciled. I'm sorry that you didn't catch Pettigrew, though. What a rat that one, no pun intended. I still cannot believe we'd let that backstabbing murderer live in our house for so long. I knew Scabbers wasn't like other rats, but I thought that was because of the influence being in contact with so many developing magical cores can have on a creature. I never once thought he might be an animagus. I hope they catch him soon, and until then I can only trust in your uncanny ability to get yourself both into and out of unlikely situations. I would make you promise me to be safe, but that would be a promise made to be broken. On to your second issue._

_For some reason, it still astounds me how comfortable you are with speaking to me about your personal life, not that I'm complaining or anything. It's just, few people have shown the faith you have in me to anyone outside their family. I'm was overjoyed to hear that you thought of me as an older brother because I feel for you much the same. In response to your first question: no, being a late bloomer does not make you in any way abnormal. Everybody develops at their own rate because everybody is unique, and comparing yourself to others will only hurt you more in the long run. If I am to be 100% honest, like you expect me to be, I will tell you that I did not come into my own sexual awareness until the age sixteen. Prior to that, I claimed asexuality because I did not see the appeal that others had to girls, but I also was not attracted to males. I appreciated beauty in every form, male and female, but I never felt any sexual attraction. It wasn't until I stumbled upon a... private scene...between two of my classmates during my sixth year that I realized, and accepted, that I am in fact gay._

_This brings me to the third life change addressed in your last letter to me. Harry, have you stopped to think that the reason you're so against the idea of Draco dating isn't because you think he's too young, but because you're scared of him having someone in his life more important to him than you are. I've seen the two of you together and heard you speak of him, Harry, and from what I can tell you've been completely entwined with each other since early childhood. You have a very close bond that no proper name can be put to since its obvious you never thought of each other as brothers, but the love you feel for each is much stronger than any bond of friendship could ever be. Do not deny that you love Draco, Harry, but maybe it's time for you to examine exactly how you love him._

_Do not get me wrong. I am not implying that there's a romantic love between the two of you, but if there was would it be so bad? Maybe your problem with Terry is that he has Draco the way you want him?_

_Anyway, I must close this letter now. I'll see you at the Quidditch Cup and we can talk then. (I have something important to tell you about your coming school year, but I want to see your reaction when you hear it). See ya, Harry._

_Love you Dear Friend and Surrogate Brother,_

_Charlie Weasley_

Harry's brow wrinkled in thought as he set down the letter. He and Charlie had been writing each other back in forward since Charlie had written Harry a few months into his first year at Hogwarts to see how he was doing. Harry considered to Charlie to be one of his closest friends, and his greatest confidant. The only one who gave better advice than Charlie was Mother Narcissa, but there was some things that Harry needed advice about that could only come from another male. If he was to be completely honest, Harry considered Charlie a closer friend than Ron and Hermione.

Harry knew that Charlie had better things to do with his time than hang out with a boy not even fourteen years old yet, but Charlie always took the time to write Harry back and always had such nice things to say. There was a measure a trust between the two of them that wasn't there with Ron and Hermione.

It was because Harry trusted Charlie so inexplicably, that hen resolved to put some serious thought to what Charlie had said in his letter, but that would have to wait until later. Harry's mental clock told him that it was nearing two pm, which meant Mother Narcissa would be expecting him soon. Setting Charlie's letter aside, he stood up and exited his rooms.

Harry descended the stairs of Malfoy Manor wearing a pair of neatly pressed black slacks, with a white collared shirt, and a loosely tied emerald tie. Over this, he wore a formal black robe with emerald green lining left open to seem more casual. His hair had been brushed to a somewhat tamed mess, and his shoes held not a speck of dust. Overall, he looked like a proper young man heading to a semi-formal gathering, which was exactly the look he was going for.

"Where are you off to dressed so sharp?" Sirius asked once Harry reached the bottom of the steps. Sirius seemed to have finally put on a healthy amount of weight during his extended stay at Malfoy Manor. Color had returned to his cheeks, and he was wearing proper Wizarding robes that emitted and air of old money. If not for his eyes, it would be hard to tell that this man had spent twelve years in Azkaban. Unfortunately, that was not an experience anyone could go through unscathed and Sirius' wild grey eyes spoke of a slight madness and a horror unseen by most of society.

Harry smiled benignly at his godfather, once again grateful that the Malfoys had been willing to open their home for the fugitive. They had been unable to catch the rat Peter Pettigrew, so Sirius was technically still on the run. Harry had written to his adopted family about the issue and Lucius had offered Sirius a suite of rooms in the Manor for as long as it would be safe for Sirius to stay.

"I am having tea with Ma-cissa in the lady's parlor; she says she wants to catch up with me about the school year." Harry answered his godfather's inquiry with a large smile.

"Alright, have fun. I'm going to find Lucius, see if I can drag him into the gentleman's parlor for a game of bumps." Bumps was the wizarding equivalent to the Muggle game of billiards, only the balls had a mind of their own and tended to change their paths and colors whenever they felt like it. "Any idea where I'd find him?"

"If he's not busy then he's most likely in the library, but I'd check his study first."

Sirius smiled and ruffled Harry's hair. "Thanks, Pup, see ya later." Harry watched his godfather disappear down the hall towards Lucius' office with a smile. He was happy that Sirius was living in the Manor now, because it gave him the chance to get to know his godfather and learn more about his parents. The only downside to Sirius living with them was that Severus refused to come over now and Harry thought of Severus as another paternal figure, or at least an uncle.

Harry once again set course for the parlor where he was to meet with Narcissa, but this time he was not at all happy to see the person who halted his progress.

"Hello, Harry," Terry Boot said.

Harry gave a nod of acknowledgment, but didn't say a word.

"Where are you headed?" Terry asked, falling into step beside Harry.

"Tea," Harry said simply. "Shouldn't you be with Draco?" he added, just because the question was bothering him.

"We had a fight," Terry shrugged it off as if it was no big deal.

Harry stopped walking and turned to look at him. "Why?"

Terry shrugged. "You know how Draco is. He has a strong personality and it clashes with my equally strong personality."

"Then why—" Harry started, but stopped himself. Still, Terry knew what he was going to say.

"Honestly? I don't know why we're even bothering. I think both of us was just bored. We were bound to try this relationship thing sooner or later, guess we're just not meant for each other."

"So are you two breaking up?"

Terry laughed as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Of course not. If every little fight was enough to end a relationship over, then we would never have any fun. We'll make up sooner or later and go back to snogging before the sun sets."

"So this is just fun for you?"

"Well, yeah. Harry, we're fourteen years old, do you really think we're looking for something serious right now? This is really just a relationship of convenience. Purely physical. We're just in it to for the pleasure. Besides, both of us have our hearts set on someone else."

Before Harry could say anything, Draco came storming around the corner. "Terry! There you are."

Terry grinned like the Cheshire cat cat from one of Harry's favorite books. "Draco," he said simply.

Harry couldn't help but notice how Draco's eyes had fell on Terry's lips when the Ravenclaw grinned. Draco slowly licked his own lips, before he pulled his eyes away. The blond didn't say anything, but he tilted his head invitingly towards the stairs to the upper floor that had only Harry's and Draco's rooms.

"See ya around, Harry," Terry said still grinning, then the two of them were gone. Harry wondered why he was suddenly feeling so sick to the stomach. He no longer desired to have tea with Mother Narcissa, in fact all he wanted to do was to get his broom and fly up to the roof of the manor where he could be alone in a world all his own. A world where the likes of Terry Boot didn't exist and Draco hadn't grown up and left Harry behind.

Unfortunately, Narcissa would never forgive Harry for canceling their plans, so Harry swallowed down his sudden ill feelings, and entered the lady's parlor. Of course all it took was one look for Ma-cissa to know something was wrong. Less than a minute later, the tea set had been removed from the room and Harry was lying across the couch with his head on the Malfoy matriarch's lap being read to from a book of poetry. Narcissa didn't ask what was wrong, because she didn't need to and she knew Harry wouldn't have answered anyway. She carded her fingers gently through Harry's raven locks, and Harry allowed the combination of her gentle touch and soothing voice to lure him to sleep.

_One hour with thee! When burning June  
Waves his red flag at pitch of noon;  
What shall repay the faithful swain,  
His labor on the sultry plain;  
And, more that cave or sheltering bough,  
Cool feverish blood and throbbing brow?  
One hour with thee._

The summer seemed to be passing unbearably slow to Harry. Perhaps that was because every time he turned around he was hit in the face with Draco's and Terry's relationship. Draco was spending all his time with Terry. Harry had walked in on them snogging in the library more than once. The garden maze was practically off limits to anyone who did not approve of public displays of affection. He would never admit it, but Harry actually felt relieved the day near the end of August when Draco stormed into Harry's sitting room and declared that he and Terry had broken up for good. Harry almost didn't believe what he was hearing, there had been other occasions when Draco and Terry's fights looked like they were destined to end in breakup, but this was the first time the break up had actually been declared.

Of course Harry squashed down his feeling of joy immediately upon feeling it, because it was wrong to derive pleasure from the sufferings of his best friend. "What happened?" he asked nicely, hoping Draco wouldn't realize that he really didn't care to know. He was content with the fact that Terry Boot would no longer be around rubbing into Harry's face that he and Draco were in a "purely physical" relationship.

Purely physical! Harry had never heard a bigger oxymoron. What was pure about a relationship that had no emotions attached? But knowing that their relationship was only physical had somewhat soothed Harry's heart throughout the much too long summer. He felt a sick sense of superiority knowing the amount of emotions Draco had invested into his friendship with Harry, while there was next to no emotion invested into whatever he called that thing with Terry. Even if Terry had Draco's body and attention, there's was part of Draco that would always belong only to Harry.

"You know how it goes," Draco said absently. "There was so much passion in the beginning, then it's like a candle in a hurricane. No flame at all."

Harry really didn't know how it went. He had never been in a relationship after all, but he suppose what Draco was trying to say that the thing with Terry had been nothing but infatuation. A far cry from the mature love Harry hoped to find somewhere in his lifetime. But then again, maybe Draco was talking about something completely different, something Harry couldn't define with the library of books kept in his head.

"No, I don't know how it goes," he said in hopes of getting a more detailed account.

Draco shrugged. "At first there was a fire, but then it burned out. How else could I put it?" He looked at Harry with a bit of pity in his eyes as if it had just dawned on him that Harry really didn't know what he was talking about, because Harry had no real life experience to compare it to. "You'll understand someday."

At that moment, it took everything within Harry not to find offense in what Draco had just said. (How dare the blond speak to him as if he were a child!) Harry swallowed down the sparks of fury igniting in him, and doused it with the cool spring of his gentle personality. Once calm again, Harry gave Draco one of his looks that said everything needed saying without a single word. Many people often saw that look and fed their own meanings to it, but Draco knew Harry better than anyone so the only meaning he got from the look was exactly what Harry meant.

Draco cast his eyes away, before looking back sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound that way."

Harry peered at Draco slowly, before giving a slight nod and turning his attention back to his book—he was reading about mythology and trying to decipher the incestuous family tree of the Greek gods. (Did that guy really sleep with his own grandmother? And here Harry had thought the inter-breeding of pure-bloods was bad enough.)

Draco sat down on the couch next to Harry and grabbed the book from Harry's hand. He flipped through the pages casually under Harry's impatient eye, before discarding the book onto the coffee table in front of them. "Tell me some of your words, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes and thought for a moment, carefully choosing words from the unending stream in his mind, before opening his mouth and weaving a tale of friendship, betrayal, demons and redemption. Draco's head fell against Harry's shoulder and the blond closed his own eyes as he listened to the story unfold.

Some time later, Narcissa came to get Harry for an afternoon walk through the gardens. She stood at the door watching her two sons, before backing out slowly and leaving them to their solitude.

_One hour with thee! When the sun is set,  
Oh, what can teach me to forget  
The thankless labours of the day;  
The hopes, the wishes, flung away;  
The increasing wants, and lessening gains,  
The master's pride, who scorns my pains?  
One hour with thee._

_~Sir Walter Scott_


	21. Midsummer

**20. Midsummer**

_You__loved__me__for__a__little,__  
Who__could__not__love__me__long;__  
You__gave__me__wings__of__gladness  
And__lent__my__spirit__song._

Harry was excited about going to the World Quidditch Cup with his family and friends. It was all Draco had been talking about since August first rolled around and the letters he'd gotten from Ron hadn't talked about anything else. Even Hermione had showed excitement about the coming event; she wasn't interested in the Quidditch part of it as much as she was in the Wizarding culture tied to the festivities. Harry couldn't wait for the event.

The night before they were to leave for the weekend, Harry had a dream. He was lying on his back in bed and a person whose face he couldn't quite make out was hovering over him, covering all his exposed flesh with gentle teasing kisses. Warm hands had made their way up Harry's shirt and were stroking his chest. Fingers caressed and squeezed his nipples until the hardened under the attention, which sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine. A comfortable weight was pressed against Harry's hips and groin area. Harry moaned as the weight shifted and began rocking against him. An answering hardness was pressed against him. Harry's cock was quickly becoming hard and his breath short as the unknown person continued grinding against him. Harry had never felt anything quite like this and he moaned loudly as an unfamiliar heat coiled in his belly and he…woke up breathless and sweating.

With wide eyes, Harry glanced around his bedroom, half expecting the dreamed of person to still be present in the dimly lit room. Of course the room was empty. Harry lay back on the bed and tried to gain control of his erratic breathing. He, of course, knew exactly what had just happened; he was a well-read youth after all. He knew that it was only natural for growing boys to have dreams such as the one he'd just had. He'd discovered the previous year that Draco was having similar dreams, as proven by waking up with Draco's hard cock pressed against his leg. It was at this point that Harry noticed that there was a similar hardness between his legs. Curiously, Harry slipped a hand down to touch the throbbing flesh.

Harry knew about arousal and erections, but he'd never experienced it. He had skipped awkward age that most children discovered that touching themselves brought pleasure; haven had read books of the sexual variety at very young age and all. He'd never been curious about how it would feel, because he had always taken such a detached approach to the aforementioned literature. He had known that it would be only a matter of time until he started having erotic dreams, and part of him had decided that he would wait until that time to revisit the self-exploration stage he'd bypassed in childhood. Seeing as that time had now come and that he had nothing better to do, Harry decided there no time like the present to try masturbating.

It was common sense that putting too much thought into such matters would only distract from the actual action; Harry cleared his mind and simply let his hand do as it pleased. He stroked himself over his pajamas for a while, feeling the little thrills of pleasure that spread through his body as the organ grew harder. Liking the feeling, and deciding that he wanted to feel more, Harry raised his hips and shimmied his pajama bottoms down to around his knees, and followed them immediately by his boxer shorts; he also kicked the sheets down to the foot of the bed so that he was completely exposed to the slightly chilled air.

A surprised gasp escaped Harry's mouth when his hand made direct contact with his erect member for the first time. He dragged his fingers across the hard shaft in light, barely there touches, before grasping it firmly in his hand and giving a quick jerk. This time his body arched into the touch and a much louder sound escaped him lips. Harry gave a few more pulls, before feeling the moist precum pooling at the tip. His fingers, seeming of their own accord, gathered up the fluid and rubbed it into flaming red head.

Realizing that his left hand was doing nothing, wanting to add to his growing pleasure, and remembering was the unnamed dream visitor had done, Harry slid his other hand up his shirt and hesitantly touched his right nipple. Eyes widening, and mouth dropping open in a silent gasp, Harry nearly came right then. Apparently his nipples were _very_ sensitive. With his right hand making alternating pressure and mixes of caressing and strokes on his cock and he left hand switching between nipples to tease, Harry's body was completely flushed and his moans were reaching a level that it wouldn't surprise him if he woke the entire house. Heat pulled in his belly and with one last tug, Harry's eyes rolled into the back of head and his body arched off the bed as he reached a hard orgasm.

Collapsing back against the bed, trying to catch his breath and reorient his thoughts, Harry wondered why he hadn't done this before. It felt as if every nerve in his body was emitting a pleasurable hum and his brain was in a post-coital fog. A sappy grin refused to leave his face and his entire being just felt _right_. Eventually he came down from his post-orgasm high and noticed the mess he'd left all over his hand and chest. Knowing that things would be very uncomfortable in the morning if he gave in to the screaming desire to sleep now and worry about the mess later, Harry pushed himself out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom to wash off the stick translucent fluid covering his flesh.

Once clean, Harry made his way back to bed and was out like a light the moment his head in the pillow. In the morning he and the rest of the habitants of Malfoy Manor (save Narcissa who had opted to stay behind to keep Sirius company) would be going to the Quidditch Cup and he needed to be well rested for the coming excitement.

_You loved me for an hour  
But only with your eyes;  
Your lips I could not capture  
By storm or by surprise._

Harry woke to Draco pouncing on him in bed the next morning. "Wake up, Harry!" Draco yelled. "It's time for the Quidditch Cup." Times like this made Harry remember the child Draco had been when they first met: so carefree and full of excitement about the simplest things. Harry smiled at his playmate and rolled out of bed.

Draco seemed to be of the mindset that the quicker they went through morning routines, the faster the day would go. So, after speeding through bathing and getting dressed, Draco rushed Harry downstairs for breakfast where he had to slow down because Narcissa would accept nothing but the best manners at her table.

Still, it wasn't too long until they were arriving at the location of the Quidditch Cup. As they walked through the crowds and passed the tents set up Harry caught sight of a familiar face at the same time the person noticed him.

"Harry!"

Harry smiled and ran towards Charlie's open arms. The red head pulled him into such a tight hug, Harry wouldn't have been surprise to hear some of his ribs crack. "Hullo, Charlie," he greeted his favorite Weasley.

"How have you been?" Charlie asked, releasing Harry from his arms and smiling at him really large; Harry saw him glance towards Draco and knew what the question was really asking.

"I'm fine." Charlie raised one eyebrow as if to ask was he being completely honest. Harry smiled back and nodded.

Charlie smiled again and ruffled Harry's hair. "That's good to hear." He turned to Lucius and inclined his head respectively. "Hello, Lucius." Charlie was the only Weasley on first name basis with the Malfoy family, and only because he'd gain their respect when he'd gone against what were most likely direct orders from Dumbledore to keep Harry away from the Malfoys the summer before he started Hogwarts.

"Hello Charles," Lucius replied with a slight nod of his head. He sent a cursory towards the rest of the red head family, bur offered them no further attention. Harry sighed, accepting that as a win since the Malfoy patriarch had forgone all out antagonizing the Weasleys.

"Hullo everyone," Harry offered the greeting to the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione. At this point, Draco had seen Blaise and had taken off after getting a nod of permission from his father. Harry sent a questioning look at Lucius and received a nod as well.

"Meet me by the tent ten minutes before the game starts." Harry nodded, and Lucius quickly left him with the Weasleys.

Once Lucius left, the tension that had been thickening the air evaporated and Harry was immediately pounced upon by the rest of the Weasley clan.

When it was time for the match to start, Harry was surprised to learn that the Weasleys had seats in the same spot as the Malfoys. The tension that had permeated the air earlier returned as they made their way up the stairs. But all family rivalries were forgotten when the game started.

"Harry," Charlie said when they were making their way to their tents after the game. The two of them had been walking slower than the rest of the group, so they were behind everyone and had a semblance of privacy. "I'm not sure if Lucius told you yet or if he is going to tell you since it's meant to be a secret, but I thought that you'd like to know about what's happening at Hogwarts this year."

When Lucius pulled Harry and Draco aside earlier that week to tell them about the Tri-Wizard tournament Harry had listened intently, intrigued by the sudden revival of the banned tournament. Unfortunately, Lucius only knew the bare minimal of details and Harry had gotten just a bit more information from Charlie after he'd promised not the share the details with anyone. All Lucius could tell them was an overview and history of the tournament, Harry had gotten the same information from Charlie as well as knowledge of what the first task would be.

Later that night, as he was standing under the eerie green light of the Dark Mark in the sky, Harry wondered what more than watching the Tri-Wizard tournament was in store for him this year.

_Your mouth that I remember  
With rush of sudden pain  
Like one remembers starlight  
Or roses after rain…_

Like most boys who discovered the pleasures of masturbation, Harry couldn't keep himself from repeating the action. Harry liked to think he had a bit more self-control than your usual teenage boy who took every opportunity available to indulge in a quick fap. Harry limited his masturbation to twice a week, and to the privacy of his shielded bed in the Gryffindor tower. Harry enjoyed these moments for more the pleasure he brought to himself. He enjoyed the private time he had; time to unwind and not think.

He and Draco had, for once, managed to avoid starting their new school year by fighting. That may have been because Draco was currently too busy snogging random people in alcoves to pay much attention to Harry, but the time they did spend together wasn't nearly as strained as it had been in the past. Harry had come to accept the fact that Draco was a teenage boy with the libido to match. He no longer grew jealous every time he heard a new rumor about his playmate's sexual exploits. Really, Harry just didn't want to antagonize Draco. This was the longest they'd gone into a school year without fighting after all.

While Draco was off snogging who ever his sweetheart of the moment was, Harry spent his "Slytherin Time" with Blaise. Having a designated time in his schedule to spend with the Slytherins was a practice that seemed to work the previous year, so Harry didn't see fit to change it. If Draco couldn't be present at the times Harry visited, Harry took no offence and just hung out with his other Slytherin friends.

It was during his Slytherin Time sometime in mid-October that Harry got his first real kiss. Everyone had experimental kisses growing up that didn't mean much of anything, those kisses were rarely thought about after they were done and held very little weight on a person's sexual development. Harry had kissed both Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass during early childhood. Neither kiss was something he would consider to be a "real kiss". No, Harry's first "real kiss" came from Blaise Zabini and it was the precursor to Harry's first real relationship.

It was mid-October and Harry was in the library with Blaise. All the other Slytherins were too busy to join them, so it was just the two of them. They were supposed to be studying Ancient Runes, but Blaise had the attention span of three year old and was instead telling Harry stories and jokes in Sign Language. Harry was having the hardest time trying not to laugh for fear of being kicked out of the library. Harry finally gave up on fighting the losing battle and quickly cast a silencing charm around the area, before bursting into loud peals of laughter. Blaise began laughing right along with him.

As Harry fought to get his laughter under control, Blaise suddenly stood leaned across the table and pressed his mouth to Harry's. Harry's laughter immediately halted in this chest as his eyes widened in surprise, but not four seconds later, Harry found himself kissing Blaise back.

"What was that?" Harry asked when Blaise finally pulled away. "Well, I know what it was, but what brought that on so suddenly?"

"I've wanted to do that for a long time," Blaise said with a crooked smile.

Harry blushed and cast his eyes away shyly.

"Harry?" Blaise said, pulling Harry's eyes back to him. "Can I ask you something?" Harry nodded slowly. "I think I've made it quite obvious now that I like you, could you please tell me if the feeling is mutual or am I just wasting my time?"

Harry chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. "I don't want to say you're wasting your time," he said after a while, "you're a great friend, but…"

"But that's all I'll ever be?" Blaise asked.

"No, I was going to say 'but I've never been in a relationship before and I don't think I know how to act in one.' I like you, too, Blaise, but this is all new to me."

Blaise smiled. "Harry, a relationship is nothing more than a more committed friendship with a few extra perks. You don't have to act any different from how you normally act and I wouldn't want you to anyway. So, will you be my boyfriend, Harry?"

Harry didn't need to think about it for more than a few seconds. "Yes," he said.

Unnoticed to both Harry and Blaise, standing a few feet from them, just within the boundaries of the silencing charm Harry had cast, Draco watched them kiss again with a look of utter betrayal etched across his face.

_Out of word of laughter  
Suddenly I am sad…  
Day and night it haunts me  
The kiss I never had._

_~Sydney King Russell_


	22. Neglect Returned

**UchiSays: **Sorry this update is so late and so crappy. A lot has been happening since October (NaNoWriMo, Final Exams, Family Get-together, new roommates, and Sorority recruitment, just to name a few). And there's the fact that I really didn't much like the 4th Harry Potter book so I didn't have much desire to write this and I had no clue how to start this chapter after how the last chapter ended. (I was really considering doing Draco's POV, but decided against it). Still, I finally got it written! Unfortunately it didn't include nearly as much as I wanted it to, so the next chapter also takes place in the 4th book. Also, overall, I believe this chapter is quite crappy and I'm really only satisfied with the first part of it. But, anything is better than nothing. So, yeah.**  
Uchi-Also-Says:** WOW! In the forever since I last updated this I got so many new readers! Welcome! I hope you all continue to enjoy (and review) this story and I hope I don't disappoint you.**  
Side-Note: **For those of you waiting for me to update "Hush, Little Baby", the second chapter will be within the next week or so (hopefully)**  
Side-Note2: **I'm considering writing a not-quite-slash-but-kinda-close-slash-scene between Harry and Blaise. Is that something you all would like to read? Or should Harry save all his "firsts" for Draco?  
**Side-Note3: **I know that the prologue says there might be non-con in this story, but I thought I'd let you know that I decided against that. With the way their relationship is now and the way I see it going, there's going to be no use for rape and if I do add a rape scene (which I doubt I will) it won't be between Draco and Harry.

* * *

**21. Neglect Returned**

_1.  
Proud _Strephon! _doe not think my Heart  
So absolute a slave:  
Nor in so mean a servile state,  
But if I say that you're Ingrate,  
I've Pride, and Pow'r, enough, my Chains to Brave._

It was Harry's designated Slytherin Time and he and Blaise had taken over a dark corner in the Slytherin Common Room. There was a Potion's practical exam coming up and Harry was trying to revise for it, except Blaise was under the impression that Harry's photographic memory excluded him for the need to revise and that all the studying of theory in the world wasn't going to be enough to improve Harry's practical scores. Blaise had taken it upon himself to distract Harry as much as he could. He kept telling jokes, teasingly tugging Harry's hair, writing notes on pieces of parchment and slipping them in front of the book Harry was reading, and just being the silly, fun boy Harry had always known him to be.

Harry pretended to ignore all his teasing and kept his attention on his book.

"Harry," Blaise whined.

He kept reading as if Blaise hadn't said anything. "Harry," Blaise whined again, poking Harry in the side. "Harry. Harry. Harry. Harrrrry. Harrrrrrrrry." He poked him again every time he said his name.

Harry continued to ignore him, barely managing to keep his amusement off his face. Apparently Blaise realized the annoyance tactic wasn't going to work, so he tried a different approach. Harry let out a surprised squeak when he felt arms looping around his waist and pulling him into Blaise's lap. Blaise held Harry securely against his chest and nuzzled the side of the younger male's neck.

"Harry," the name came out in a deep, breathy tone that sent trills of pleasure down Harry's spine. "Harry," Blaise said again, his breath teasing the skin of Harry's ear. Harry shivered with desire. He lowered his book and leaned back into Blaise's embrace, allowing his eyes to fall closed and just enjoying the moment. He could feel Blaise grin against the skin of his neck.

"Harry!"

Harry's eyes flew open in an instant and the tendrils of secure relaxation that had been coating him disappeared just as quickly.

"Draco," Blaise said casually, his arms wrapping tighter around Harry to hold him in place.

Draco stood in front of the two of them with an air of menace emanating from his every pore. His eyes, their silver depths looking as hard as diamonds, flicked to Blaise for a second before fixating back on Harry. "Potter," he said icily, before turning a walking away; leaving an unspoken command for Harry to follow him.

Harry sat up and tried to push himself to his feet, only to be held fast by Blaise. Harry turned and looked at Blaise. The dark skinned boy glared at Draco's retreating back coldly, not paying any attention to Harry.

"Blaise," Harry said softly as he tried to stand again. Blaise dark eyes turned and met Harry's. Their heavy gazes had their own unspoken conversation, before Blaise sighed in defeat. He placed one last kiss against the side of Harry's neck before letting the smaller boy stand.

Harry gave Blaise a small smile, before turning and rushing after Draco. Harry quickly made his way down the hall towards the Slytherin fourth year boy's dorm, knowing without actually having seem him enter that Draco would be waiting for him there. Harry stepped through the door, and it immediately slammed behind him due to a flick of Draco's wand.

"Draco?" Harry asked hesitantly. It was obvious Draco was not happy about something. The blond had been avoiding him for almost a week now and Harry had no idea why.

Draco ignored Harry as he paced up and down the room angrily. Harry didn't like seeing Draco like this. A Malfoy never paced unless they were not in complete control of their emotions. Draco's pacing usually meant the youngest Malfoy was too angry for words and someone was going to suffer for it. As he was the only other person in the room, Harry deduced that someone would be him. His brain quickly supplied him with some words to say in order to attempt to diffuse Draco's anger. Harry latched on to those words, but didn't speak them. He held them in his mind like a shield against what was sure to come. At times like this, words were all he had and it would be best not to waste them.

Draco growled loudly and furiously kicked the trunk at the foot of Nott's bed, before rounding on Harry with his eyes flashing. He took a deep breath and finally spoke in a calm, controlled voice.

"I forbid you to date Blaise."

The words Harry had latched on to slipped away like water through his fingers. Surely he hadn't heard what he thought he'd just heard. Surely, he'd mistaken Draco's words. He looked at his playmate silently, his question unspoken but showing obviously in his eyes.

"You heard me correctly," Draco said casually, as if he wasn't attempting to control Harry's life. "I forbid you to date him."

Harry closed his eyes slowly. Words bounced around his skull with the force of a raging hurricane trying in vainly to escape his mouth. He wouldn't say them. He couldn't. He gathered the words close and held on to them. Harry pursed his lips and opened his eyes as slowly as he'd closed them. "Do I get a reason for the sudden order?" he asked calmly.

"Because I say so."

"That's a bullshit reason and you know it," the words slipped from Harry's lips before he even noticed.

Draco glared at him; Harry had never spoken so frankly to him before. "Bullshit reason or not, I say you can't date him so you're not going to date him. End of story."

"Can I at least have a viable reason as to why I can't date him?" Harry hoped his calm tone would help Draco keep a hold on his already short temper, but no such luck. He could feel his hold on the words in his head cracking.

"Because you're mine!" Draco snapped. "You're my boy! I own you and I say you can't date him!"

"That is the most selfish thing I've ever heard you say," Harry said, releasing his precarious hold on the words fighting to escape his lips. "I'm not allowed to date, but you're allowed to snog anything that moves!"

"It's different for me."

"How is it different, Draco? Tell me because I don't understand."

"It's different because I'm my own person and can do whatever the hell I please, but you're my property and have to listen to whatever I say and I say you can't date him."

"So basically you're telling me that I'm not allowed to date because you're selfish and controlling. That makes a whole lot of sense, Draco. It is so good to know my happiness is up to your whims."

"You can be happy without snogging him. You were before."

"Things were different before, Draco."

"How was it different? Tell me because _I_ don't understand."

Harry stood in silence trying to gather his words back; trying to find the words that needed most saying. Words. Sweet precious words. Words had magic. Words had power. Words were his treasure. Words were wasted trying to talk to Draco when he was being like this.

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Draco. And I don't have to listen to everything you say. I really like Blaise. He makes me happy. I shouldn't need your permission to be happy."

Draco looked like there was something he wanted to say, but couldn't find the words to say it. He stood there glaring, his teeth clenched tightly. "Fine!" Draco finally snapped. "Do whatever you damn well please. Go and fuck him for all I care, just know that the longer you're with him the more likely you are to lose me."

Harry smiled sadly as he watched Draco storm out of the room and slam furiously. "I've already lost you," he whispered to the silence around him.

He sighed and made his way back to the common room where Blaise was waiting for him with a look of concern etched across his dark face. Harry met his eyes with a silent plea, and Blaise didn't even hesitate to pull Harry into his arms hold him like he so desperately needed to be.

_2.  
I Scorn to Grieve, or Sigh for one,  
That does my Tears Neglect;  
If in your Looks you Coldness wear,  
Or a desire of Change Appear,  
I can your Vows, your Love, and you Reject._

Harry tried to hold back his laughter as how flustered Ron had become just because the part-Veela Beauxbatons girl had talked to him. The girl smiled faintly, apparently used to the effect she had on boys. She turned and was about to make her way back to her seat, but stopped when she met eyes with Harry.

"Excuse-_moi_," she said softly, "You are 'arry Potter, _non_?"

"_Si,_" Harry answered.

"_Je m'appelle_—" she paused. "I meant; my name is Fleur Delacour. You know _ma soeur_."

Delacour? "Gabriele is your sister?" Harry asked excitedly. He'd met Gabriele Delacour years ago at his favorite bookstore in France. They had become instant friends and had been writing each other back and forward every since. Gabriele had mentioned having an older sister, but Harry had never met Fleur until now. "How is she?"

"She is well," Fleur said with the same faint smile as before. "She had spoken of you often; she showed me a picture of you. That is how I knew who you were. I am pleased to have met you. She will be happy when she hears."

"She has spoken of you to me as well. I am delighted to have met you."

"Harry?" Hermione said.

Harry turned and met her confused eyes. He blushed when he realized that he and Fleur had been speaking French. The transition between languages had come so naturally, Harry hadn't even noticed it. There was a part of his brain that was keyed in to picking up different accents and switching to whatever language would be easier for all involved in the conversation. Fleur's accent was so obviously French; he didn't even have to think about switching to her native tongue. He was sure, had Draco been in his situation, he would have done the same thing.

Harry sighed when he thought about Draco, feeling his heart twinge in remembered pain. It was now Halloween, making it three days since Harry had last spoken to his playmate. Blaise was doing his best to try to distract Harry from the pain, but there was still a feeling of loss clinging to him every passing moment. Of course he and Draco had fought before, but this time felt different. Harry didn't think there was anything he could do that would make Draco happy with him again without Harry having to sacrifice his own happiness in turn.

"Harry?" Hermione asked softly. He hadn't told Ron and Hermione that he and Draco were fighting again, but they just seemed to know it anyway.

Harry forced his smile back onto his face. "Sorry, I was a mile away. Fleur, please pass on to Gabriele my best wishes. I hope you and I get on well."

"Of course, 'arry," Fleur smiled, "A toute à l'heure?" [See you later?]

"À bientôt, "Harry agreed.

Harry watched as Fleur made her way back to the table with her schoolmates, before turning back to and taking in Ron's slack-jawed look of disbelief.

"Blood hell, Harry, how did you talk to her so calmly? Any normal bloke would have been drooling all over themselves."

"Not all guys are as uncouth as you, Ronald," Hermione said simply.

"But didn't you see her?" Ron said in defense. "She was obviously part Veela!"

"And you're obviously all idiot," Hermione said shortly.

Harry cleared his throat before Ron could say anything and gestured towards the front of the Hall where Dumbledore had stood from his seat and stepped up to the podium.

_3.  
What refin'd Madness wou'd it be,  
With Tears to dim those Eyes,  
Whose Rays, if Grief do not Rebate,  
Each hour new Lovers might Create,  
And with each Look, gain a more glorious Prize!_

Harry stepped out of the room in a daze. If face held a closed off expression, while his emotions ran rampant within him, hoping for chance to escape. He didn't know what to think of his current situation, and the emotions he felt, though powerful, were fleeting and inconstant. He felt fear, and anger, and curiosity, and grief, and pride, and a plethora of other emotions. He gathered all those wayward feelings and pushed them into a back room of his mind.

On auto-pilot, he made his way through the halls towards Gryffindor Tower. He hoped that, perhaps, after a good night's sleep he would be ready to deal with the emotions and the situation he was currently facing.

"Harry!"

He stopped walking and searched for the source of the yelled word.

Blaise smiled sadly at him as he stepped closer to the smaller boy. "Are you alright?"

Harry looked at his boyfriend, and a crack appeared in the dam that held back his rampaging emotions. Tears welled in his eyes.

"I…" the words were not there.

Blaise wrapped his arms around Harry and held him tightly.

"I know," the Slytherin said soothingly. "I know."

Harry clung to Blaise, reveling in his comfort and understanding, but still he needed to say the words he was unable to say before. Back in the room the words wouldn't come under the force of all those judgmental gazes. If not for those willing to defend his honor, Harry didn't think he would have made it out without some form of punishment.

"I didn't put my name in the cup."

"I know," Blaise said.

Harry cried.

_4.  
Then do not think with Frowns to Fright,  
Or Threaten me with Hate,  
For I can be as cold as you,  
Disdain as much, as proudly too,  
And Break my Chain in spight of Love or Fate._


	23. Love and Life

**UchiSays: **So, this chapter is _long _overdue. I'm sorry it took so long. For excuses, I have none. I would like to give a big Thank You to everyone who's reviewed and a big Welcome to all my new readers. Your reviews always make me feel so happy and inspires me to do my best, and as always the reviews from new readers telling me how they just stumbled across this story and love it so much makes me feels extra specially loved. I will not make any promises about when the next chapter will be posted, because we all know how bad I am at keeping such promises. All I can say is thank you all for sticking with me though these long waits and I hope you continue to stick with me. **  
AN: **So, Blaise in the later half of this chapter acts a little like he acted with Harry in my story "To Be Loved", I don't know why I decided to point that out, but I thought it was cute.**  
AN2: **The next chapter (still not giving promises on when it will be posted) may or may not have a little of Narcissa's POV. It's an idea that I've had since I first started writing this story and I kinda want to see it play out, but I really undecided at this point.  
**AN3: **I literally finished writing this chapter five minutes, so the chance of there being spelling/grammar mistakes (especially in the second half) is extremely high. I'm also really lazy, so the chance of me going back and editing later is extremely low.

Please enjoy and review,

~Itami

* * *

**22. Love and Life**

_All my past is mine no more;  
The flying hours are,  
Like transitory dreams given o'er  
Whose images are kept in store  
By memory alone._

Harry was not happy. He wasn't angry either, but pained. He was deeply pained. Betrayal hurt like no physical wound ever could, especially when that betrayal came from the person proclaiming to be your best friend. It wasn't Draco who hurt him this time—Harry had long since grown used to Draco's bouts of irrational anger and selfishness; at this point he learned to roll with whatever the blond threw at him. No, this burning betrayal was because of Ronald Weasley. Ron, who apparently didn't take Harry's word on honor like a good friend should, was the cause of this unhappiness. It made Harry think that if a friendship could so easily fall apart, by perceived betrayal on one side leading the actual betrayal on the other side, how strong was that friendship to begin with?

In a brief second of utter insanity, Harry almost agreed with Draco's assertion that Harry needed no friends outside of him. Draco may have abandoned Harry for unjust (though sometimes it was completely justified) anger more than once, but he'd never completely betrayed him. Draco, at least, took Harry's word on honor like a good friend should. Draco had never hurt Harry as much as Ron was hurting him now. Even when Draco was angry with him, there was always little sings that he still cared for Harry and they would overcome this hurtle eventually.

If Ron ever came to his senses, Harry would forgive him this betrayal, as was in his nature to do, but rest assured the pain this brought about would not easily be forgotten. Their friendship would never completely recover, but Ron didn't trust Harry and Harry couldn't trust Ron not to turn his back again.

At least he had Blaise through all of this. Blaise so easily tempered the burn of Ron's betrayal just by smiling, joking, being present, and reminding Harry what a true friend was. Harry would have been lost without Blaise.

Currently, Harry and Blaise were sitting in the library, supposedly doing preparatory work for the First Task, but really Harry was staring blankly at his book trying to ignore the fact that Blaise was staring at someone across the room.

Harry sighed and closed his book. "He's still dating Dean, you know," Harry said, not needing to look to know who had stolen Blaise's attention. This conversation really was long past due. Harry and Blaise should have addressed this issue before they ever agreed to date.

"What?" Blaise asked, turning to Harry with a confused look on his face.

"Seamus," Harry said. "He's still dating Dean."

Blaise looked sheepish and a bit pained. Perhaps he'd thought Harry didn't know about his crush on Seamus. Most likely he did know that Harry knew, but was hoping it wouldn't matter. "I really do care for you, Harry," Blaise said penitently.

Harry smiled in a shy sort of way that he hoped appeared reassuring. "I know you do, Blaise. If I didn't know you cared for me, I never would have agreed to this relationship. I knew you had feelings for him from the beginning, just as you knew I had feelings for someone else."

Blaise raised one eyebrow and grinned. "So you're actually aware of your feelings for him? I thought you were too lost in the world of books to realize something like that about yourself."

Harry blushed and glared at Blaise with a playful heat. "Yes, Blaise, I'm aware of my feelings for him. I may be dense at times, but really there's no other reason to explain why I take so much shit from him without complaining."

The uncharacteristic wording achieved the affect Harry had been hoping for. Blaise threw his head back and laughed deeply. Harry smiled and laughed along with him. After a while the laughter died down and Blaise grew serious. "So, now that we've stopped ignoring the checker print elephant in the corner, where does that leave us?"

"This is the point where a normal couple would agree to break up," Harry said.

Blaise frowned. "I don't want to break up," he said. "I really care about you and I really like being your boyfriend."

"I don't want to break up either," Harry admitted. "I guess we're not a normal couple."

Blaise chuckled softly, a much more sedate sound compared to the full body chortles he'd released just a minute ago. "I don't want to be in the way if he ever pulls his head out of his arse long enough to see how he feels about you."

Harry tapped the nib of his quill on the table and chewed his lip thoughtfully. "How about we…" he didn't finish the sentence, but Blaise knew him well enough to know what he was going to say.

"That could work," the half Italian said. "We both agree that if either of us gets the chance to be with the person he truly wants, the other will back out gracefully and make no fuss about it. We can stay together, without getting in each other's way."

Harry continued tapping the quill nib on the table, but nodded his agreement at that statement. For some reason the very idea of this agreement made him embarrassed. A light blush was coating his cheeks.

A hand fell on top of the one that was tapping the quill and Harry looked up into Blaise's kind eyes. The embarrassment melted away. "Seal it with a kiss?" Blaise teased lightly.

Harry smiled and leaned across the table to meet Blaise's lips in a quick, yet heavy kiss.

Blaise smiled, squeezed Harry's hand reassuringly, and sat back in his seat. "So, let's find out how you're going to outfight a dragon." He grabbed a book and pulled it towards him, flipping it open to a random page.

Harry chuckled and turned his attention back to the book he was reading.

"Maybe you should aim for its underbelly," Blaise said a few minutes later, having gotten so into reading the book he'd grabbed that he didn't realize any time had passed. "It says here that's a dragon's weak spot isn't it?"

"I'd whether outsmart the dragon than outfight it. I think I'll be less likely to be roasted alive that way."

"You could out-fly it," an unexpected voice said.

Harry turned and met Draco's silver eyes, curiosity floating within his own bright green orbs.

"You didn't think I'd abandon you in your hour a need, did you?" Draco asked, claiming the seat next to Harry. "I may be a stubborn, selfish, inconsiderate asshole—who is perfectly aware of his own faults—at times, but I do look out for my own. What kind of person would I be if I abandoned my boy to fight a dragon all alone?"

Harry smiled, ignoring the prickling in his eyes that said he should be crying in joy and gratitude. "Thank you," he said simply.

Draco smiled back and raised a hand to Harry's hair, ruffling it playfully. "Even when I'm being an asshole, you're still my boy, Harry. Don't ever forget that."

If one of the traitor tears Harry had been trying to fight back made its presence known sliding down Harry's cheek, no one mentioned it.

"What were you saying about flying?" Blaise asked to ease the weight of the moment.

Draco grinned. "Ask me about saying this later, and I'll lie through my teeth, but Harry's always been a better flier than me. He's the greatest flier Hogwarts has ever seen. So, if he can't outfight or outsmart the dragon, why can't he out-fly it?"

_Whatever is to come is not:  
How can it then be mine?  
The present moment's all my lot,  
And that, as fast as it got,  
Phyllis, is wholly thine._

Harry was happy. Actually, he was over the moon. Even though the rest of the school had still been shunning him up until the First Task, Blaise and Draco and stood faithfully at his side and supported him when no one else would. After the task, Ron had apologized to him and Harry had taken his apology on a "screw up again and I won't forgive you" basis. Charlie had watched him in the First Task and the kind words from his surrogate brother had filled Harry's heart with warmth.

It had taken less than a week for Harry and his Slytherin friends to figure out the secret of the Golden Egg—many pureblood families required their children to learn the language of a magical creature, mermaid was not a favorite but by luck one of the current Slytherins was proficient enough to recognize the screeching sound for what it was. Faced with having to determine a way to survive under water for a long period of time, Harry had immediately thought of Gillyweed and Snape agreed to provide him with some for the Task.

It went without saying that Blaise would be Harry's date for the Yule Ball, though he did dance with Draco once. Draco had gone without a date, but did hook up with someone during the party. Ron had nearly ruined the night with his barely concealed jealousy of Hermione and Victor Krum, but Blaise had become good friends with Hermione since he'd started dating Harry and had warned Ron against opening his mouth if nothing other than "you look beautiful" was coming out when addressing Hermione.

The morning of the Second Task, Harry and Blaise had met alone a little before dawn.

"My uncle sends his greetings," Blaise said as the two of them walked around the lake Harry would plummet into in a few hours. "He says he's sorry he had to go back to the States so soon, but he wishes you the best of luck."

Shortly before the First Task, Harry had asked Blaise to contact his uncle, Damien. Damien had come to Hogwarts to see Harry in the tournament. Before the First Task, Harry had met privately with Damien and Charlie, and shortly after the task concluded Damien had headed back to his home in America. Harry hadn't told anyone why he'd needed to meet with Damien and he didn't intend to share it until he had no other choice.

"Still not going to tell me what you wanted to speak with him about, are you?" Blaise asked. Harry just grinned. "Well, in that case I shall jump to the conclusion that you're cheating on me with my uncle and say 'how could you, Harry? I thought we had something special' and proceed to stump away angrily."

Blaise folded his arms with an affronted look on his face and turned his back to Harry. Harry stood silently staring at Blaise's back and waited patiently. Sure enough, less than a minute later Blaise turned back to Harry with a grin. "Ok, I'm over it." He wrapped his arms around Harry's waist and pulled the smaller boy close to him. Blaise placed a slow, emotion filled kiss on Harry's lips. "Are you nervous?"

Harry leaned his head against Blaise's chest, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend—obviously needing the comfort and support Blaise strong figure provided—he said nothing, but his silence was enough.

"Don't be nervous," Blaise reassured him. "It's not like you're facing a dragon or anything."

Harry laughed, but clung to Blaise a little longer. Blaise clung to Harry as well, falling silent as the sun rose over the lake.

"Come on," Blaise said an unknown passage of time later, "Draco and Professor Snape are most likely wondering where we are."

They made their way back to the school. Severus was waiting for them by the entrance with the Gillyweed he'd promised Harry. Draco was nowhere to be found.

The closer it came to the time of the Task, the more nervous Harry became that Draco wasn't around. He clutched tightly and Blaise's hand and kept looking over his shoulder in hopes that Draco would come walking up soon. He knew in the back of his mind that Draco is "what he'd sorely miss," but he really didn't want to think about the fact that Draco was most likely at the bottom of the lake waiting for him. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't condone handing students over to mermaids. The aquatic creatures were volatile on a good day. It was bad enough Harry and the rest of the Champions would have to face them, if there was more students down there under the mermaids' keep, there was no telling what could happen.

The time for the Task to begin came and Harry's heart grew heavy. Draco still hadn't made an appearance and Harry felt his fears were now proven. He steeled his heart and will, he and Dumbledore will be having words later, but first he had to rescue Draco. A fire of determination ignited within him, nothing was going to get in the way of him rescuing his Draco.

The task started. Harry swallowed the Gillyweed quickly and jumped into the water before it even had the chance to take effect. He had learned to swim in the lake at Malfoy Manor, which contained as many creatures as this lake. When they were about eight years old, some of the mermen in the Malfoy lake had thought it would be fun to grab Draco and drag him under. Lucius had saved him then, but the experience had left Draco with a lasting fear of merpeople.

Harry swam fast and deep, holding his breath until he felt the Gillyweed finish working it's magic.

Up ahead of him, a flock of Grindylow blocked Harry's path. They seemed to have trapped Fleur Delacour as well. Harry released a ranged Stinging Hex; it hit all the Grindylow in proximity. The little water demons were dazed by the attack and Fleur was freed. Harry swam on quickly.

He was the first to reach the merpeople and their captives. Cho Chang, Hermione, Gabrielle Delacour, and Draco were unconscious and surrounded by a guard of Mermen. Harry froze. Hermione, Gabrielle, and Draco were all his friends. He wanted, above all, to save Draco, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the girls behind. Some of the mermen were looking particularly hostile right now, and who knows how much longer they would condone having intruders in their territory. Fleur had most likely not been able to continue on after the Grindylow attack, so she wouldn't be able to come for Gabrielle.

Harry swam towards Gabrielle, but some mermen guards blocked his path. Harry glared. He considered casting another ranged Stinging Hex, but it wouldn't have as strong of an effect on the merpeople as it had the Grindylow. Most likely it would be taken as a sign of hostility and the merpeople would attack him and the hostages. A multitude of more effective spells—some of them considered Dark Arts—drifted through Harry's head, but decided against casting. He'd wait this out instead.

Victor Krum arrived about a minute later, partially Transfigured into a shark. He quickly freed Hermione and swam to the surface. That was one less person Harry had to worry about. Cedric Diggory arrived soon after and freed Cho. Harry glared at the mermen. The only people left to save were Gabrielle and Draco. It would be easy to just take Draco and go, but he refused to leave Gabrielle.

Thinking fast, Harry swam over to Draco and began fussing with the ropes holding him. Looking around at the watching merpeople, he pretended to keep all his attention to Draco, while casting a nonverbal, wandless Cutting Hex towards the ropes holding Gabrielle. The ropes fell away and the little French girl began to float up. Harry quickly sliced through Draco's ropes as well, grabbed his playmate and began to swim. He grabbed Gabrielle was he was at level with her, the cast a Shielding Charm between them and the, now angry, merpeople. The water in the area of the shield temporarily condensed to the point that it was impenetrable. A merman ran into the shield and bounced off.

The shield would only last about thirty seconds, but that would be more than enough of a head-start for Harry to get his friends back to the surface. Harry swam as fast as he could. About half way to the top, he felt the Gillyweed begin to wear off. Again, he put little time into thinking over his actions. He cast a Propulsion Charm that sent Draco and Gabrielle rocketing towards the surface—he felt they were close enough to the top that the sudden rapid ascent wouldn't affect them too much, and even if it did Decompression Sickness (the Bends) was easily treated in the Wizarding World.

Harry was about to cast another Propulsion Charm to get himself to the surface as well, but before he could his wand hand was grabbed by a non-too-happy merman. Merpeople were a proud species. They strongly disliked being outsmarted, especially by surface dwellers. And Harry had outsmarted them, and for that they thought he deserved punishment.

The merman began to drag Harry down. In a moment of panic, Harry began to flail his arms in hopes of being released. There was less than half a minute until the Gillyweed would completely wear off and when that happened Harry would begin to drown. The merman clung tightly to Harry's wand arm, its claw-like nails digging into the skin and making Harry unable to keep hold of his wand. Harry watched forlornly as the piece of Holly wood drifted down into the depths of the lake. He had, of course, been trained on defending himself without a wand, but his martial arts training wasn't very helpful underwater and his repertoire of wandless spells required more focus than he was capable of giving with merpeople currently clinging to all four of his limbs. And to make matters worse, the Gillyweed had just wore off.

Harry closed his eyes in defeat. What a poor ending for The Boy Who Lived, dead at the vengeful hands of merpeople. But, at least Draco was safe.

When Harry next opened his eyes, it was to the sight of a determined Poppy Pomfrey leaning over him with her wand dancing quick patterns over him. A dripping wet Draco Malfoy hovered just over her shoulder looking extremely concerned and an equally wet Lucius Malfoy could be seen off to the side yelling murder at Albus Dumbledore. Severus and Blaise were standing off to the side glaring at Dumbledore and making no move to stop Lucius.

Madam Pomfrey sat back with a relieved sigh. "Just drink these potions and you'll be right as rain," she said, handing Harry two vials.

Before Harry could drink the potions, he found himself with an armful of an overemotional blond playmate. "I thought I'd lost you," Draco whispered. "I thought I'd lost you. Never again, you hear me, never again."

Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and tried to silently console him.

Draco pulled back and met Harry's eyes. So many emotions were dancing within those silver depths; Harry barely knew what he was seeing. "I never want to lose you, Harry," Draco said. "I love you much too much." He leaned in and brushed his lips against Harry's and Harry froze in shock, but Draco was persistent and before long the shock melted away and Harry shyly kissed him back.

When Draco pulled away, Harry glanced over at Blaise who was now watching them. Blaise grinned and made an overly-dramatic bow. Silently declaring that he was "bowing out" and letting Harry have the one he loved.

_Then talk not of inconstancy,  
False hearts, and broken vows;  
If I, by miracle, can be  
This livelong minute true to thee,  
'Tis all that heaven allows._

_~John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester_


	24. All Through the Night

**UchiSays: **Hello my lovelies. First off, let's have a round of applause for Awkward Silence reaching its 500th review (yay!). Next thing, this chapter is more of an interlude than and actual chapter, and it takes place before the 3rd task. (I'm currently undecided on when I want the next chapter to take place, but I think it's going to be right after the 3rd task and the Moody Uncovering, so I'm not happy because I really wanted to be done with the 4th book by now!) And the last thing I wanted to say (other than that I absolutely love you all!) is that the poem in this chapter is not actually a poem at all. It's a lullaby. I thought it was fitting, because this chapter to Ma-Cissa Centric. Also...actually, I think that's everything.

I absolutely love you all! Thanks for all the reviews and love. Please continue to send reviews and love and I'll try to update faster.

~Itami

* * *

**23. All Through the Night **

_Sleep my child and peace attends thee,  
All through the night.  
Guardian angels God will send thee,  
All through the night._

Narcissa Malfoy considered herself to be a good mother. She wasn't perfect, by far, but what mother truly was? Parenting was a lot of trial and error and Narcissa was aware that she'd made some mistakes when it came to her boys. But she was a redeemed by the fact that she loved her sons, Harry and Draco both, more than life itself and would destroy anything and anyone who would try to harm them—even if the person wishing her boys harm was her husband.

Narcissa loved Lucius dearly. (Their marriage had been arranged after the both of them had given their consent on the matter.) He was her best friend and most trusted confidant. But Lucius wasn't perfect either. He'd made his share of mistakes, large ones that he didn't even realize were mistakes. Lucius thought he was doing what was best for their family, and prior to this Narcissa hadn't bothered with interfering with his choices. Lucius had made the decision to prostrate himself in front of an egotistical madman in the first war, and Narcissa let him do so. Draco had still be young at the time and primarily under her care, she was more the capable of protecting him even if Lucius' decision came back to bite him in the ass.

But things were different now. The biggest difference being that in the first war, Harry hadn't been her son. Now, Harry was just as much her son as Draco and he would be a great risk if Lucius chose to repeat his mistakes. Narcissa may have sat back and held her tongue when it came to most of Lucius' decisions, but those decisions put her sons at risk, she was very much the fierce mother lion. Lucius needed to be reminded of that before he did anything too stupid.

The Dark Lord hadn't yet returned, but Narcissa and Lucius were well aware that he would be back before the year was out. Narcissa would need to speak with Lucius before Voldemort's inevitable return.

_Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping.  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night._

Narcissa and Lucius had a standing tea date every week. In the eighteen years, four months, and two weeks they had been married, Lucius had only failed to show up for this weekly date twice. He knew very well that he needed to be on his death bed in order for Narcissa to excuse his absence or else the next time she saw him, she would put him on his death bed herself.

Narcissa was a very powerful witch. Few people knew that because of the intentional vapid air she put on and the cloaking ring she always wore. She was, by birth, and member of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, so of course she was powerful. The Black family had been producing the most magically strong females the world has ever seen for two generations. It was a family secret, but it was the truth. By the time Black women entered Hogwarts, they had more magical power in their reach than an average witch would have after reaching her majority.

Just once, Narcissa had let Lucius feel the full range of her powers and he never dared anger her again after that.

When Lucius entered the Ladies Parlor and saw Narcissa calmly sipping tea, with a look in her eyes that could bring a strong man to his knees and her cloaking ring sitting innocently on the table, he knew he was in trouble.

"Lucius," Narcissa said coolly, sending a shiver running down Lucius' spine.

Lucius schooled his features into a careful mask of detachment. "Narcissa," he said back tersely.

Narcissa sat up straight and proper in her seat, placing her tea cup calmly on the table and pinning Lucius with ice cold eyes. "Let's not play games, for this is no matter that I shall allow you to weasel your way out of. Tell me now, Lucius, what are your allegiances for the coming war."

Lucius tried to act aloof as he fixed a cup of tea to his liking and refused to let his eyes rest on Narcissa. "What's brought this on, so suddenly?" he asked calmly. "You never showed interest in politics bef—." He cut of abruptly when he felt the concentration of magical energy in the room rise substantially with Narcissa's growing anger.

"I care nothing for you damn politics, Lucius," Narcissa said shortly, her anger slipping unchecked into her tone. "I care only for my son."

Lucius placed his tea cup on the table and sat up straight, meeting Narcissa's gaze. "Harry Potter," he said slowly, "is not your son."

Lucius' tea cup shattered.

"Control yourself, Narcissa, you do dishonor to the House of Black with displays of temperamental magics one would expect from a three year old."

"I damn well will not control myself, Lucius." Narcissa spat. "Were you not the one who told me to treat Harry as my son in the first place? Did you expect me not to grow to love and care for him as I do Draco? No one's heart is that cold! I'm telling you, now, you selfish, power-hungry, megalomaniacal, honorless, and dickless man: if you do anything to bring harm to either of my sons, Draco or _Harry_ I will waste no time in killing you where you stand. Do I make myself clear?"

"Very clear, Narcissa," Lucius sneered.

Narcissa met him glare for glare.

Suddenly, Lucius winced and grabbed his left forearm. He pushed back his sleeve and showed a red and irritated Dark Mark. Voldemort still hadn't returned yet, but he was growing in strength.

Lucius pulled down his sleeve and stood quickly.

"Get your priorities in order," Narcissa warned him as he made his way from the room.

_Angels watching, e'er around thee,  
All through the night.  
Midnight slumber close surround thee,  
All through the night.  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night._


	25. A Line Storm Song

**UchiSays: **So, for some reason writing this chapter took a lot out of me. I finished it at around 2amand breathed a sigh of relief to see it finished. It drained me, and not that emotional draining where I'm fighting not to cry while writing it because nothing overly emotional happens here, but somehow it was physically draining and not because I was up so late writing it, because I stayed awake for another two hours after it was complete. I'm glad to see it done and I'm also very glad to finally be out of the fourth book. Also, I'm going to add another author's note to the end of this chapter because there's something I want to comment on that you won't understand until you read.

Enjoy.

* * *

**24. A Line-Storm Song**

_The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,  
The road is forlorn all day,  
Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift,  
and hoof-prints vanish away.  
The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee,  
Expend their bloom in vain.  
Come over the hills and far with me,  
And be my love in rain._

Harry sat curled against Draco's side, his face pressed against the older boy's chest listening to the low lub-dub of his heart beat. Draco warms wrapped securely around him, making Harry feel warm, content, and safe. Outside, rain fell heavily upon the stones of the building and the glass of the windowpane. Lightning cracked across the sky and less than a second later thunder roared causing both Harry and Draco to jump in surprise. Draco pulled Harry closer and his face in the younger boy's messy dark hair. Harry's hand clutched at Draco's shirt, pressing himself closer to him; expressing without words his presence, his protection, and his love.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Draco flinched.

Harry frowned.

Inside Harry's mind, a river cut and angry path. It raced through his thoughts, the waters rising and falling, stirring; creating a tumultuous of mass almost too dangerous to even thing of entering. Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging waters. The river stilled. Harry smiled and plunged in. The waters of the river were words and at the bottom of the river bed were smooth stones of memory. Harry scooped up a stone then sat wading in the water.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Draco buried his face in Harry's hair.

Harry opened his mouth and began to weave a familiar tale about a prince and a street urchin who were best friends and went on grand adventures together. Draco relaxed, listening to Harry share his words.

Lightning flashed and thundered roared.

Draco laughed at the mishap the Prince and the Street Urchin had gotten into.

Harry smiled.

By time the Prince and Street Urchin had reached their happily ever after, the rain had slowed to a soft pitter-patter against the windowpanes.

Draco smiled down at Harry. His silver-grey eyes seemed to glow in the dull lighting of the room. A smile curled the corners of his lips. A hand raised and caressed Harry's cheek. Harry's face grew red under the touch. Draco leaned in slowly and pressed a gentle kiss against Harry's lips.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Harry blushed and cast his eyes away, not needing to say anything because Draco knew him so well.

"Let's get some sleep," Draco said.

They separated long enough to lie down on the Charmed soft floor and slide under their Transfigured blankets. Once they were in a horizontal position, Draco pulled Harry against his chest and kissed the top of his head. Harry's head fitted almost perfectly under Draco's chin and their legs stretched out and entangled together. Harry absently wondered when had Draco gotten so big and why hadn't he noticed before now and why did that feel so comforting.

They mumbled their good nights and then they slept.

Harry woke to sunlight streaming in through the window.

He was warm, his back pressed tightly against Draco's front, and completely at peace. It was rare for him to wake and not be immediately assaulted by troubles and worries. The only time when he was truly at rest was when he was asleep. Returning to the waking world usually brought with it all the unsolved problems of the day before and sometimes a new way of looking at solving those problems. But he was untroubled when he woke in Draco's arms.

He smiled and pressed closer to Draco.

His eyes widened in surprise when he felt something pressing back against him.

Harry remembered the first time he'd woken in Draco's arms and found the other boy was erect. Harry had been upset then, because he'd felt that Draco was growing up and leaving him behind. But Harry wasn't a child anymore and Draco wasn't the only one with a morning wood.

Still, Harry did not know what to do.

He and Draco were dating now, so did that mean Harry was suppose to do something to help Draco get off? But they hadn't been dating very long, so was it too soon for something like that? Was Harry ready for something like that? Was Draco? That was almost funny. Of course Draco was ready for something like that. He'd had a long string of lovers before he'd gotten with Harry. He was accustomed to sexual satisfaction. But Harry had only ever been with Blaise, and the two of them had only ever made it as far as heavy snogging and light petting. In theory, Harry knew how to sexual satisfy a man—he'd read about it after all—but theory and practice was two completely different things. What if Harry wasn't able to satisfy Draco? Would Draco be disappointed? Would Draco think Harry was just a kid and decide it was a mistake getting together with him?

"Stop thinking so much," a voice whispered against the top of Harry's head.

Harry jumped in surprise. When had Draco woken up?

"Good morning," Draco whispered, his mouth moving down and kissing the side of Harry's neck.

"Morning," Harry said back softly. The kiss against his neck made him blush and brought back all his thoughts from before. Was this kiss going to segue into something more? Would Harry know what to do if it did?

"You're thinking too much, again," Draco said. He raised himself so that he was reclining on his elbow and peered down at Harry. "As much as I'd hate to see an erection wasted, I would never pressure you into something you're not ready for."

Harry's face lit up bright as a Christmas tree. Draco knew him too well.

Draco grinned at him and leaned in to steal a quick kiss.

Suddenly the racing river of Harry's thoughts calmed like a still pond. When Draco tried to pull back Harry followed him, keeping their lips connected in a shy kiss. Draco placed a hand against Harry's chest, holding him in place as he pulled back. Harry was suddenly nervous. Had he been too forward?

Draco sat up and guided Harry into a sitting position as well. He pulled Harry towards him until the younger boy fell against his chest. Harry looked up at Draco shyly and was granted a small smile in turn. Harry's tongue snaked out to moisten his inexplicably dry lips.

Then Draco's lips were on his and it was unlike any kiss they shared before.

Draco's lips were warm and soft and dominating. They moved expertly over Harry's, causing Harry to kiss back eagerly. Draco's tongue coaxed Harry's lips apart and slipped inside. Harry trembled as the sensitive roof of his mouth was caressed teasingly. Draco's tongue mapped out every recess of Harry's mouth before meeting Harry's tongue and enticing it into a flirty dance.

Harry had kissed before, obviously. He and Blaise had invested a great deal of time into the act. But Harry had never been kissed like this. He didn't know Draco was doing something different or if his perception was just different. Whatever the reason, this kiss was unlike anything Harry had experienced before.

It felt more intense and more gentle at the same time. It filled Harry with an all-encompassing heat while it cooled all of Harry's doubt and fears. Every little movement of lips and tongue made Harry melt and crave more.

At some point, Harry had ended up in Draco's lap with his legs straddling the older boy's narrow waist and his fingers gripping silvery hair for all dear life, feeling as if he was flying and free-falling. One of Draco's had rested on the small of Harry's back, the other cupped the back of Harry's neck playing with the soft tuft of hair at his nape.

Harry gave an experimental roll of his hips, causing both him and Draco to moan at the feel of their clothes covered erection rubbing together. Both of Draco's hands fell to Harry's waist as the blond bucked his hips trying to get a repeat of the feeling. Harry let out a whimpering sounding moan and buried his face in the side of Draco's neck. He was hot and embarrassed, but he felt good and he wanted more.

Harry rolled his hips again at the same time Draco bucked his. Harry almost cried from the pleasure. His cock was achingly hard and twitching inside his pants and loving every single second of rubbing against Draco's matching hardness. Harry clutched at Draco's broad shoulders and used the leverage to roll his hips harder and faster.

Harry moaned. This felt so good. So good. So achingly good.

Draco's hands slipped under Harry's shirt and caressed the heated skin of Harry's back, causing Harry to whimper feeling as if he was burning even more. When Harry rolled his hips forward, he could feel Draco's erection pressing against his bum and the images that conjured in his mind were a arousing as their physical movements.

They continued to move together, rocking and sliding and grinding. And dear Merlin if this didn't feel good, unlike anything Harry had ever felt before. Harry discovered he could be very loud when acting on carnal instincts and Draco seemed to enjoy all the sounds Harry emitted.

Finally Harry couldn't take anymore. He felt the familiar aching heat pooling in his belly. His fingers clutched tighter on Draco's shoulders, his back arched, his head flew back, and with one last cry he was coming so hard it felt like the room was spinning. Draco held Harry as his body trembled in the aftermath of his release, placing small quick kisses everywhere he could reach.

"You're beautiful," Draco whispered against Harry's cheek. "My boy," he breathed in Harry's ear. Harry whimpered. Draco brought their mouths together in another kiss that made Harry's room spin again.

"Have you…" Harry didn't finish the question, his flushed face becoming even redder. But Draco knew what he'd wanted to say.

"When you did," Draco said; his lips left Harry's and traced a heated trail down the side of his neck. "We should stop," the blond mumbled breathlessly, seemingly entranced by a particular spot on the side of Harry's neck in the amount of attention he was paying to it was anything to go by.

"We should," Harry agreed, he whimpered when Draco bit softly on that spot and sucked it. His fingers tugged futilely at his playmate-cum-boyfriend's hair.

"We need to go," Draco said, licking that spot and causing Harry to moan loudly.

Harry only whimpered in reply.

Draco placed one last kiss on Harry's neck before pulling away with a sigh. "We really do need to go. Your friends are probably looking for you by now."

Harry frowned. He didn't want to leave yet, but he knew Draco was right.

By some miracle unknown to them, no one but Blaise had witnessed Harry and Draco's first kiss after the second task. This suited them fine, because they agreed that their relationship didn't need to go public just yet. They weren't ashamed of their relationship, but Harry had some suspicions that he wanted to put at ease before anyone knew about them dating. Of course, Harry knew something that Draco didn't know but one could never be too safe.

Harry sighed and got out of Draco's lap and stood. Draco stood as well and they silently got to work casting Cleaning Charms on themselves, Transfiguring their blankets back into their school robes and removing the Cushioning Charm on the floor.

They reluctantly headed towards the door. Before they left, Draco pulled Harry into his arms and stole one more, chaste, kiss.

"Good luck out there," Draco said his voice only slightly louder than a whisper.

Harry gave a gracious smile that looked more than a little sad. He'd almost forgotten that this was the day of the Third Task.

They parted ways.

_The birds have less to say for themselves  
In the wood-world's torn despair  
Than now these numberless years the elves,  
Although they are less true there:  
All song of the woods is crushed like some  
Wild, easily shattered, rose.  
Come, be my love in the wet woods; come,  
Where the boughs rain when it blows._

Harry stood on the grounds with the other Triwizard Champions. He looked up at the stands were the spectators stood and met eyes with Draco. Draco gave him a small, reassuring smile before raising a hand with his thumb, index, and pinky fingers extended. Harry's heart gave a little flip in his chest as he returned the gesture before stepping into darkness.

Harry was used to navigating hedge mazes, so the Third Task shouldn't have been too difficult for him. But all his practice in the Malfoy Garden Maze hadn't quite prepared him for this. He knew basically what to do. He used a variation of _Lumos _to create a floating ball of light that followed him around. A Four-Point Spell told him which way was north and his internal compass kept him from having to repeat the spell over and over. After taking a few wrong turns and running into a couple of dead ends a rough map of the maze began to form in his head. He would be able to predict a possible path, but the thing that made mazes so tricky was that they were designed to not be predictable. Still, knowing that his path led to a dead end made him able to visualize how the path other the other side of that dead end would run. He was actually less worried about getting lost in the maze and more worried about the lack of obstacles in his path.

As if summoned by his thoughts, Harry heard movement coming from right behind him. He drew his wand and quickly turned on his heel, ready to fire a curse at whatever was coming at him. A harassed looking Cedric Diggory stumbled into his path and said something about Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts. Harry took the warning to heart and continued on his path.

He rounded a corner…and saw a dementor gliding towards him. Harry raised his wand to cast a Patronus, only to pause. There was something off about this dementor; it was unlike the ones he'd faced the previous year. The coldness he felt wasn't bone deep and he didn't feel completely discouraged and depressed. Harry frowned. At least he knew what his deepest fear was.

"_Riddikulus_!" He called. The boggart exploded into a wisp of smoke.

Harry continued on.

His mental compass told him that he'd gone too far east. He turned back and took another turn only to find himself facing a gold mist. He frowned, not recognizing what he was looking at. He didn't want to rush headlong into something unknown, so he pulled up his mental map and tried to devise and alternate path.

He heard a scream up ahead. Fleur? Harry gave up the idea of an alternative route and rushed into the golden mist. Immediately he felt as if the sky and earth had been switched and he was hanging upside down. He froze in his tracks, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart. He knew that there was no magic that could alter the natural order of the universe in his way for real so this must be an illusion. Still, illusions were dangerous. Well, only as dangerous as the amount of fate you invested into them. If you truly believe an illusion to be real and that it could hurt you, you gave it the power to cause that harm.

Harry closed his eyes and cleared his thoughts. He took another step forward…and the world righted itself. He rushed on, the gold mist floating innocently on the path behind him. He did not see Fleur anywhere and could only hope she was ok.

After nearly ten minutes of meeting nothing he rounded a corner and was greeted by an enormous Blast-Ender Skrewt. It was ten feet long and looked like a giant scorpion. Harry did a quick mental review of what they'd learned about the creatures in class. His magic would most likely bounce off its armor, but it was like a dragon in the fact that its underbelly was soft and unprotected. Harry aimed carefully and managed to hit the Skrewt with a _Stupefy _on his first try. He ran away quickly, knowing the spell wouldn't last very long.

Once he was a safe distance from Hagrid's little pet, Harry consulted his internal compass and mental map before choosing a path he thought would lead him where he needed to be. A few minutes later, he heard voices coming from the path running parallel to his own and he stopped dead in his tracks.

He unfroze the moment he heard Krum casting the Cruciatus on Cedric. He cast a _Reducto_ at the wall of the maze and forced himself through the small opening he'd managed to create. Krum looked up the moment Harry made in through the hedge and tried to run.

"_Stupefy_," Harry yelled. The Bulgarian champion fell. After checking that Cedric was alright and casting red sparks over Krum, Harry rushed on.

The increasing darkness made Harry sure he would soon reach the heart of the maze. He was ready for this to be over.

The creature Harry faced next he'd only ever seen in his _Monster Book of Monsters_ and Harry felt awed and honored to be in the presence of the majestic sphinx. Sphinxes were creatures associated with wisdom and intelligence and Harry had nothing but the upmost respect for them. He listened carefully to her riddle, answers presenting and dismissing themselves in his mind with each line she spoke. He had only to think for a second after hearing the riddle before he was sure of his answer.

The sphinx let him pass and Harry was sure the end was almost in sight and for a surprisingly thrilling second he was almost sure he was going to win.

Except, Cedric was already on the path ahead of him and there was no way Harry would be able to overtake him in speed. He was almost disappointed. Until he saw the spider, then he was very happy that he was back here and not up there with Cedric.

Cedric didn't see the spider. Harry called out a warning then flung a spell at the overgrown arachnid. Harry immediately regretted flinging the hex, because all it had done was draw attention to himself. The spider was on him before he could even think of a way to get away from it. He futilely continued to yell spells and curses as he was lifted into the air. One of his spells managed to fall true, and Harry ended up falling twelve feet to the ground.

His first martial arts lessons instantly came to his mind. His hands smacked the ground, taking the brunt of the fall and he immediately rolled himself out of harm's way, raising his wand and casting a spell at the underbelly of the giant bug. Cedric cast at the same time and the force of their combined spell-work put the spider out of commission.

Harry collapsed back on the ground, waiting for his heart to catch up to him. This whole Tournament seemed designed to rob Harry of years of his life, either through outright trying to kill him by pitting him against dangerous beasts or subtly trying to scare him to death or give him a heart attack.

He and Cedric had a brief argument about who should take the Cup, before they decided to go it together. As Harry reached a hand toward the Cup he felt a familiar tingle at the back of his mind. The Cup contained latent magic. Harry knew the Cup was a magically artifact, but its magic should not ring the warning bells flaring in his mind right now. Lucius had trained them to be able to identify the magic of a hidden Portkey. It was a tricky bit a magic and not everyone could do it—Draco could only identify a Portkey about 67% of the time—but Harry had mastered the ability. This Cup was definitely a Portkey, and since no one had told them this before the task Harry could only assume it wasn't supposed to be one.

He was too late to do anything about it now. Cedric was already reaching for the cup and Harry could only hurry to grab it along with him. He felt the familiar tug behind his navel and they were gone.

The moment they hit the ground, Harry acted. "_Stupefy!_" He yelled. Cedric looked at him with wide-eyed surprise, before he fell to the ground. Harry did not allow himself to regret the action; instead he quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm over Cedric and floated the older boy and the Cup to behind a large gravestone. That's when he realized he was in a graveyard.

He felt as if he was being watched and noticed someone coming towards him. He raised his wand defensively, but he was too late in acting. He didn't hear the spell that hit him, but it knocked him off his feet and caused him to bump his head. His vision swirled. He could just barely make out the words on the headstone opposite the one he'd hidden Cedric and the cup behind.

Tom Riddle.

Harry cursed.

His suspicions were confirmed.

Unconsciousness beckoned him.

He gave in.

_There is the gale to urge behind  
And bruit our singing down,  
And the shallow waters aflutter with wind  
From which to gather your gown.  
And come not through dry-shod?  
For wilding brooch shall wet your breast  
The rain-fresh goldenrod._

An _Enerverate_ woke him. Harry did a mental check of his condition before he opened his eyes. He head hurt from hitting it when he'd fell. His leg was hurting from the spider attack. He seemed to be bound against a hard surface. He was more than a little exhausted from the physical exertion of the day. His magic levels were only slightly lower than normal and a constant stream of it was flowing away from him to maintain (he sighed in relief) the Disillusionment Charm he'd cast on Cedric. Overall, he was in good condition.

Self check over, Harry opened his eyes to survey his surroundings. He was tied to a headstone. In front of him, Peter Pettigrew stood before a large cauldron holding what looked to be some type of deformed child—the river in Harry's mind raised and threw the word homunculus onto the shore.

Pettigrew put the homunculus into the cauldron and Harry briefly prayed the thing would drown. Then Pettigrew started the regeneration ritual.

Harry had researched Horcruxes and their resurrection rituals the summer after second year. He'd wanted to know if there were any preventative methods he could take to keep a resurrection from occurring. The first thing he'd learned was that there was no such this as a resurrection ritual. There was no such magic that enabled someone to revive the dead. A corpse could be reanimated. A spirit could be summoned. But a life could not truly be returned once it was gone. A person brought back to life through the use of a Horcrux is not truly brought back to life because they were never truly dead. What people often mistakenly referred to as a resurrection was actually just a regeneration or a recreation of a body.

On the subject of preventative methods Harry had found nothing that would work definitely. With this specific ritual, the only action he could take in order to stop it would to willingly give his blood instead of letting it be forcibly taken. But due to the nature of magic, even if he took the knife cut himself and poured his blood into the cauldron himself, it would still not be considered willingly given unless he acted with genuine desire to see Voldemort returned. You could fool people, but you can't fool magic. The act of willingly handing over his blood in an attempt to undermine the ritual showed he was unwilling. There was nothing Harry could do.

In a matter of minutes, Voldemort had returned and Harry was surrounded by Death Eaters.

Harry could pretend he wasn't surprised to see Lucius Malfoy standing among the Death Eaters, but really nothing could quite prepare him for the sight of the man who had been the closest thing he had to a father since he was six years old standing with a group of people who hated him on rule. Harry had known that eventually Lucius would be put in the position where he had to choose between Harry and his service to the Dark Lord. Harry wasn't sure Lucius would be ready to make the decision the first time it was presented, so Harry had taken some actions to buy Lucius some time.

When he was studying Horcruxes and preventative methods, Harry had also researched the Fidelis Charm. He'd been intrigued by the idea of being able to hide a secret within a single person. He'd wondered if the only secret one could hide under the charm was a location or could other information be concealed in this fashion. He'd done some experimenting—one of these experiments included Charming Draco's hair pink and that had given him a little thrill of pleasure—until he found the limitations of the Fidelis. Then he had done more experiments to push these limitations—one of these experiments included Charming Ron's hair green and that had given him another thrill of pleasure—until he'd created an altered form of the Fidelis that suited his needs. All he'd needed to do after that was find a secret keeper.

He'd briefly considered Charlie Weasley for this job, until he realized that would never work. For his secret keeper, Harry would need someone who lived far away from Voldemort created his reign of terror and who would not feel the need to return to Brittan when the war came for any reason. He needed someone who could be pressed to abandon obligatory loyalty to their family in order to look out for themselves. He needed a Slytherin.

Less than a week before the Second Task, Harry and Charlie had met with and concealed a secret within Blaise's uncle Damian. This secret was big and meat the difference between life and death. The web of magic needed to conceal this secret was extensive and intricate because it touched so many people and contained so much information. After discussing who they'd let in on the secret and covertly passing them the information, Damian Zabini boarded a plane to his home in America. With him, he took the knowledge that Lucius Malfoy had taken in a little boy name Harry Potter, that Harry Potter called Malfoy Manor home, and that the Malfoys and Harry Potter had any relationship the exceeded a passive acknowledgement of each others' existence.

Harry could sit in Malfoy Manor sipping tea in his pajamas right in front of Voldemort and the Dark Lord would not be able to perceive or process the information as anything important. Harry and Draco could have a repeat of that morning's activities right on the head table in the Great Hall and no would give them a second glance. Harry could walk up to Lucius Malfoy in the middle of Diagon Alley, call him father and give him a big kiss, and the world would go on around them as if nothing happened.

Harry had done this to keep his family safe: Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius could not be hurt because of their association to him.

Harry tried to look dispassionate as he watched the proceedings between Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and he was sure he was doing passably well at it. Except, if anyone took a glimpse inside his mind they would find river almost overflowing its banks as it rose and fell and rocked and rolled like a sea in a storm. Harry was thinking fast. He needed a way out of this situation and his brain kept providing then disregarding solutions. He calculated every possible outcome for every possible action.

The main thing that needed done was retrieving his wand. He knew enough wandless magic to get him out of a confrontation with four or five fully trained wizards, but he was not going to try his luck against a dark lord and a legion of his lackeys. Wand in hand, he could take on close to ten wizards at once but only if he was crafty and if he used spells the "light side" would frown at, and that did not take into consideration facing off against a dark lord's power. He wished he could count of Lucius' aid, because between the two of them the odds were a lot closer to even. He'd have better odds if he woke Cedric and allowed the older boy to help him, but Cedric would be a bit disorientated upon waking and who knows how that would turn out. The big problem was that Voldemort was a wild card. It was near impossible to predict the actions and reactions of a psychopath.

As if to prove him correct, Voldemort made the unforeseen decision to release Harry's bonds and return his wand at that moment.

Those who witnessed the duel that followed would wonder where Harry Potter had learned such a large repertoire of spells, more than a few of which were undoubtedly dark. Voldemort seemed thrilled. Harry cast quick and moved even quicker. He was a challenge that none had expected, not even Voldemort. Harry was, after all, just a fourteen year old boy, who would have thought he was more than capable of holding his own against a fully grown wizard.

Still, the difference in Harry and Voldemort's skills were obvious. Harry had not lived nearly long enough to reach the levels of the Dark Lord. He knew he was going to lose if this duel lasted much longer, so when Priori Incantatem happened, Harry was more than a little relieved.

Harry was more than a little shaken up when the dead began to come out of Voldemort's wand. It took all he had not to burst into tears when his parents came.

"Harry," his father said after instructing him what to do, "You've become a fine young man. The Malfoys were good to you. Now go."

The connection broke and Harry did not waste a second. He jumped behind the headstone where he'd hidden the Cup. He was surprised to find that Cedric was no longer Stunned or Disillusioned. The older boy stared at Harry with wide-eyed shock, but Harry paid him no mind. He placed one hand on Cedric and the other on the Cup, and then they were gone.

Later, after they came to a crashing stop on Hogwarts grounds and Harry and Cedric both exclaimed the news of the Dark Lord's return and Harry had allowed himself to be led away by Moody only to prove his final suspicion and that whole scene played out and after Harry had begged off his friends and slipped out of the Hospital Wing in the middle of the night and found Draco waiting for him and after he and Draco curled up together in an empty classroom and the blond drifted off to sleep but Harry's thoughts would settle enough to allow him to same action, only after all of this Harry would cry.

He did not cry over Voldemort's return. He did not cry because he knew he would have to be a leader in the war to come. He did not cry because he realized just how close he'd come to losing his life that day.

Harry cried because of his father's last words to him. Those words, he hadn't even known he was waiting to hear them.

Those words had been approval.

_Oh, never this whelming east wind swells  
But it seems like the sea's return  
To ancient lands where it left the shells  
Before the age of the fern;  
And it seems like the time when after doubt  
Our love came back amain.  
Oh, come forth into the storm and rout  
And be my love in the rain._

_~Robert Frost_

* * *

**UchiSays: **So, I have no idea why I decided to keep Cedric Diggory alive. It wasn't something I'd decided to do from the beginning and it actually surprised me when it happened. But I think I'm correct in saying that such an action could be expected from this Harry, he is far too intelligent after all. So, I have nothing to say to explain while Cedric lives other than "Harry made me do it," but maybe he'll become important later. I don't know, we'll just have to see what Harry makes me do next.


	26. Serpentine

**UchiSays: **Hi everyone! Finally an update! So, I just wanted to say this: no matter how long it takes me to update, no matter how long of a break I take!, no matter how much I disappear, just know that this story will NEVER be discontinued. This is my baby. I love it so much. Sometimes I'm neglectful, but I'll never abandon my baby! I'll always come back to you! Also, hello New Readers! As always, your reviews fill me with an extra special feeling of pleasure that reminds me why I'll never abandon my baby. I love my old, faithful readers dearly, but new readers you manage to capture my heart with every review you leave, so keep them coming and I'll keep banging my head against the wall until a churn out an update that contains every ounce of my blood and sweat and tears!

Love ya!

~Itami

* * *

**25. Serpentine**

_In my dreams of love, I am a serpent!  
gliding and undulating like a current,  
my eyes, two pills of sleeplessness  
and hypnosis;the tip of a spell  
my tongue...I draw you in like a wail!  
I am a capsule abyss._

Harry would be lying if he said that he did not feel a sick sense of pleasure at Dumbledore's current state of confusion. The Headmaster was insisting that Harry stay with the Weasleys this summer, but he could not give Harry a good reason as to why. The man seemed to not know, himself, why he wanted Harry at the Burrow, nor could he seem to recall where Harry would be staying if he wasn't with the Weasleys. He knew Harry did not live with his relatives, but he had no idea where Harry did live.

Harry barely managed to keep a very Slytherin-esque grin off his face. He'd deliberately decided to leave Dumbledore out of the secret for this very reason. Dumbledore couldn't insist on Harry not going to the place he called home if he didn't know where that place was.

"Harry, I really do think it would be in your best interest to stay with the Weasleys this summer," Dumbledore pressed again. "I insist on it."

"With all due respect, Headmaster, I see no reason why I cannot stay with my current guardians, nor have you offered me a good reason why you insist so."

"But Harry, my boy, with Voldemort being back I'd feel much better knowing that you were somewhere safe."

A dark look flashed across Harry's eyes. "I am not your boy, so please refrain from calling me that. And I do not appreciate you implying that my home is not safe. If you could not find me there all those years, that is if you bothered to actually look for me, then I do not think Voldemort will be able to find me either. Now, unless you can give me a viable reason I should leave my place of residence, I think this meeting is over."

Dumbledore sighed. "Just one more question, and then you may leave."

Harry waited, impatiently, to hear what the man would ask.

"Have you heard from your godfather lately? I've been unable to reach him."

Harry pursed his lips, but spoke not a word.

Dumbledore sighed again. "If you, by chance, do hear from Sirius, could you inform him that the Old Crowd is gathering again and I would very much like for him to be present."

Harry gave no sign of affirmation, he turned quickly on his heel and departed the office.

"Harry!" Draco had been waiting for him outside of Dumbledore's office. Harry smiled at him, then set course for the Gryffindor dorms; it was the last day of term and Dumbledore had demanded they meet before Harry had had chance to make sure he'd gathered all of his things. Draco fell in step beside him."What did that coot want with you? You were in there forever. I do not like that man."

A small smile twitched at the corners of Harry's lips. Sometimes, it didn't take any effort at all to reconcile this Draco with the six year old boy who'd boldly declared his dislike of girls and Harry at the breakfast table the first day they'd met. It was almost as if Draco hadn't matured at all. He was still spoiled rotten, impatient, short tempered, and selfish, but somewhere along the line he'd become trustworthy, caring, gentle, and lovable.

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and Draco followed Harry into the Gryffindor common room without even hesitating and no one gave him a second look. The common room was populated by haggard students rushing about in search of lost things and saying weepy goodbyes to each other.

"Come here, Harry," Draco said, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him towards one of the sofas. Draco wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and pulled the smaller boy flush against his body. "We both know you've had all your things packed for the last two days," Draco stated, cradling Harry close to him and caressing his cheek. Harry looked at his playmate questioningly, but was then distracted by the blond's lips meeting his.

Draco's lips were soft against his, but were also very persistent. They moved against Harry's hungrily, plying the smaller boy's lips apart and slipping his tongue passed and sweeping it across every surface of the warm, moist cavern. One of Draco's hands cradled the side of Harry's neck while he continued plundering his mouth. His other hand rested against the small of Harry's back, holding him gently yet firmly so that Harry couldn't pull away if he wanted to.

Harry moaned and parted his lips farther, meeting Draco's attack head on. Draco was a very talented kisser and his actions tended to leave Harry brainless for more than a few seconds. The hand Draco had on his waist drifted down and cupped Harry's bum, pulling Harry impossibly closer to him. Harry groaned loudly when Draco rocked his own hips forward and rubbed his hard cock against the matching hardness growing in Harry's pants.

Draco broke off the kiss and grinned wickedly, and it took Harry a few seconds longer than it would have had his brain been at normal functioning levels to realize that wicked grin could not be good. By the time Harry's brain caught up, Draco had already delved his hands inside of Harry's robes and began unfastening his trousers.

"Draco," Harry mumbled, flushed and embarrassed. Before he could say anything else, Draco's hand slipped inside his pants and wrapped around his cock, causing Harry to moan loudly, his eyes to roll into the back of his head, and his knees to wobble and go weak. Draco caught Harry's moan with another kiss and guided the smaller boy so that he was half sitting, half lying on the sofa behind him. Draco half draped himself over Harry as he continued to slowly stroke his cock.

Harry whimpered, unable to stop himself from arching into Draco's touch. For some reason, he thought that they shouldn't be doing this, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. Surely there was nothing wrong with doing something that felt _so good_. "Oh Merlin, Draco!" Harry gasped, his head thrown back as he panted his pleasure, his hands weakly gripping at the couch beneath him. Draco was nipping and sucking his neck in that spot that made it feel like an electric current was shooting through Harry's body, and his hand was stroking long and slow over Harry's prick, teasing the tip with his thumb and coaxing more and more pearly drops of precum from the weeping length.

Harry stared up at the ceiling, trying to gain his bearings but unable to think straight with all the pleasure running through his body. He knew that they shouldn't be doing this. Not here, at least. Not now. But why? And then he remember they were in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Draco, stop," Harry groaned, his face flushing even more. "Someone will see us."

Draco removed his lips from Harry's neck, but continued the wicked actions below Harry's waist. "That's the thing, Harry, I don't think anyone will see." He leaned in so that his lips were tracing the shell of Harry's ear as he continued speaking. "You're so clever, my boy," he said. "You're so beautiful, and cunning, and clever, and mine." His hand continued rubbing, and pulling, and stroking Harry's cock, his pace picking up just a little bit. "What did you do, my boy? Tell me what you did. Tell me what plan you concocted in that amazing and sexy brain of yours."

Harry's body was trembling. His breath was coming out in short pants. His brain was moving slow as molasses. And he was so close! "Fid...Fidelis." He managed to gasp out once his brain finally provided him with the word.

"You're brilliant, Harry," Draco mumbled, kissing the side of Harry's neck. "My brilliant boy." He gave Harry's prick another sharp tug, and with a loud cry, Harry went spiraling over the edge.

_My body is a ribbon of excess,  
gliding and undulating like a caress..._

Harry felt boneless and sluggish as he lay panting against the couch. He didn't know how long he lay like that, with Draco still draped over him, it could have been five seconds or five minutes, all he knew was that his whole body was still buzzing and his head was swimming.

Draco kissed the side of Harry's neck again, before sitting up and taking out his wand. Harry felt a Cleaning Charm being cast over him. "Come," Draco said, carefully tucking Harry back into his pants. "We have to hurry or we'll miss the train."

Harry allowed Draco to pull him to his feet. His brain had finally caught up with what had just happened and he couldn't help but blush. Even though no one would be able to acknowledge the information that Harry and Draco were together thanks to the Fidelis, they were still able to see what had taken place, and if for some reason the Fidelis was to fail (or be removed like he planned on doing in the future once it was safe) they would be able to remember and understand what they had seen. Knowing that people would one day recall seeing him being...devoured by Draco was...Harry wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop blushing sometime this century. But the situation reminded that there was something to discuss with Draco.

"Draco," he said softly as they made their way down to the entrance hall, "we need to talk."

"Harry, choose your words more carefully. 'We need to talk' is a breakup line, and as I already know exactly what you're about to say to me, a breakup line is slightly inappropriate."

Harry looked at Draco curiously and Draco returned the look with a smile.

"You're my boy, Harry, I know how that brain of yours works. You're about to tell me that you think that we should pause our relationship during summer vacation, or at least the physical aspects of it because you feel dishonest doing things like that while we're living with my parents. You also feel like you're abusing their trust, but at the same time you're not ready to tell them the nature of our relationship because of that very reason. You're going to adamantly refuse to engage in any sexual acts with me in your childhood bed no matter how much I wish you'll change your mind about that. Am I close?"

Harry blushed but nodded.

"I understand your feelings Harry, and I'm going to respect your wishes. I would never pressure into something you don't want." He placed a quick kiss on Harry's check. "Why do you think I made sure to get enough of you to last the summer back in the common room."

Harry's blush deepened. Draco laughed.

By this time they'd gotten on the last carriage and were on their way down to the train. "So, tell me about this Fidelis of yours. The Fidelis charm is supposed to conceal a location."

"Actually, the Fidelis Charm is supposed to conceal a secret. No one has ever put forth the effort to make it conceal all types of secrets, they were content with just the concealing of a location."

"But you made it conceal all types of secrets?"

"I may have modified it a bit."

"To the point that to crafted a completely new spell based off the Fidelis?"

"I wouldn't say it's a completely new. The principle is the same: concealing information within one person and only allowing people that person tells to even be able to think of the information. The incantation is only one word different and the wand movement differs by a flourish."

"Harry, a modified spell changes either the incantation or the wand movement. Changing both makes it a new spell. You may have based it around the Fidelis, but if you were to take it to the Ministry to registering, you'd have to register it as a new spell instead of a sub-spell of the Fidelis."

Harry squirmed in his seat and blushed a bit more. He had, of course, known everything that Draco was saying, but he hadn't actually thought it was that much of a big deal. But the awe and excitement Draco was showing made him think maybe it was a big deal.

"You're brilliant, Harry," Draco stated as they got off the carriage and boarded the train. "So tell me about our secret in particular. What exactly is being concealed? Who's the secret keeper? Not a Gryffindor, I hope. Who's in on the secret?"

"Draco, Harry!" Blaise called out from farther down the train. The two of them headed over to him and were surprised to see he'd managed to commandeer a compartment to himself. "What kept you two so long?" Blaise asked once they were all seated. "Weren't getting up to any hanky-panky were you?"

Harry's blush told the truth.

Blaise laughed loudly. Deep, full body chortles filled the compartment. "Tsk tsk, Draco, taking advantage of little Harry here. What would your mother think?"

Draco set Blaise with a hard look and a raised eyebrow. "I have it on good authority that you and Finnegan got caught by some Slytherin seventh year prefects in an upstairs corridor doing a lot more hanky-panky than me and Harry just did."

Blaise grinned, unashamed. "Have you ever notice how amazing Seamus' mouth is? That Irish brogue of his is one thing, but what that boy can do with is tongue is simply sublime."

Harry hid his face in his hands and shook his head in disbelief. Did either of these two have any modesty?

"You're a dog, Zabini," Draco stated. "Especially considering the fact that I personally caught you and Dean Thomas getting up to some hanky-panky just yesterday."

Blaise just grinned again. He'd told Harry quite clearly that the way he intended to get Seamus was to win over both him and Dean. Because Seamus was never going to leave Dean, and Blaise had nothing against threesomes.

Draco rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder, pulling him closer to him. "Tell me about your Fidelis."

Happy for the subject change, Harry started talking quickly. "The secret is worded to conceal the fact that Lucius Malfoy took in a boy named Harry Potter, though the knowledge that he has a ward isn't completely hidden. It conceals that Harry Potter calls Malfoy Manor home, though it doesn't hide the fact that I don't live with my relatives. It also hides that I have any relationship deeper than passive acknowledgment of each other's presence with anyone in the Malfoy family. The exact wording makes it so that the information that I've ever been to Malfoy Manor is hidden, in through that hides any action that happened as a direct result of that, including any friendships I may had built while living there."

"So basically, you've erased your history between the time you were six years old to the time you arrived at Hogwarts with one spell."

"Basically."

"Who's in on the secret?"

"The two of you, the Malfoys, Severus, Blaise's mum, Charlie, and the secret keeper."

"Who's the secret keeper?"

Harry smiled. "Not a Gryffindor," he stated. Draco looked at him, before nodding in acceptance that Harry wouldn't say more.

Conversation for the rest of the ride drifted to other topics.

_In my dreams of hatred, I am a serpent!  
My tongue, a venomous vent;  
my head lit by a diabolic crown,  
the visage of death—fatal fade-away  
through pupils; and my body, in gems drowned,  
the sheath of a flashing ray!_

The train rolled into King's Cross Station and Harry, Draco, and Blaise took their time departing. There was always such a push to get off the train as soon as it arrived that it really was better to wait unless you wanted to be trampled. It was also easier to find their parents once the press of people on the platform had cleared up a bit.

Once they'd finally got off the train and retrieved their luggage, it was easy to find Narcissa and Blaise's mother chatting with each other away from the rest of the people on the platform.

"Hello boys," Camilla greeted them.

"Hello mother," Blaise said.

"Hi, Mrs. Zabini," Harry and Draco said in unison.

"From what I hear, you boys had quite the eventful school year. You in particular, Harry."

"Nothing too different from Harry's usual escapades," Draco said indifferently. "Hello, Mother," he greeted Narcissa.

"Hello, Dragon, hello Har-Bear."

"Where's father?" Draco asked. The Malfoys always put forth the effort to present a unified front and a wholesome family image in public, so when it came to things like taking Draco and Harry too and from King's Cross the both of them was always present.

"He had some last minute business to attend to," Narcissa said, waving her hand in a way that implied 'it's nothing'.

Harry frowned.

"So, Blaise," Narcissa turned to the half-Italian with a smile, "We'll be staying in Bordeaux this summer at an estate I inherited from my mother. I already gave your mother the Floo address. We're expecting you to visit often."

"Why are we staying in France?" Draco asked.

"I just thought it would be a nice change in scenery, is all," Narcissa said. Her tone was one that deterred the asking of further questions, but Harry had one to ask.

"This is because of Voldemort, isn't it?" He asked. "Lucius has chosen his side."

Narcissa frowned, but she never lied or stepped around it when Harry asked her a direct question. "Lucius has not chosen his side, but I have and I made it quite clear to him what side that was. I thought it would be better if we stay away from him until he does reach a decision."

For all the forethought he'd put into it, Harry had never thought about how Voldemort's return and Harry's own presence in their home would effect the Malfoy family. He'd known that Lucius would need time make up his mind on the situation, but for some reason in had never occurred to him that he might end up dividing the family.

"Maybe I should stay with the Weasleys," Harry said. "I don't want to come between your family."

The look Narcissa gave Harry was hard as diamonds and cold as ice. "Harry James Potter, do not think for a single second that you are anything other than a part of this family. Until the time that you decide of your own freewill and not in come misguided idea of sacrifice to leave, you are a part of this family. And even after you decide you don't want us anymore, you will still be my son. Do I make myself clear?"

Harry closed his eyes for a second long than a standard blink, before nodding slowly. "Yes ma'am."

"Good, now gather your things. I have an International Portkey that will take us to La Ruelle in Paris so we can do a little shopping and have some dinner and we can Floo from the restaurant to the Bordeaux Estate. Lucius may join us there later in the summer." Her smile returned to her face full-force as she turned to the Zabinis. "It was lovely talking to you, Camilla, we simply must do so more often. I look forward to your visit this summer, Blaise. Come on, boys, we must hurry if we want to get some shopping done before our dinner reservation. Not to mention that dog of yours is dying to see you, Harry."

Harry couldn't help but smile as he followed Narcissa from the platform with Draco at his side.

_If so I dream my flesh, so is my mind, you see:  
a long, long body, serpentine,  
vibrating eternal—voluptously!_

Delmira Augustini (Translated by Natalia Sucre)


End file.
